The aerospace energy systems laboratory: Hardware and software implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glover, Richard D.; Oneil-Rood, Nora

1989-01-01

For many years NASA Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Facility has employed automation in the servicing of flight critical aircraft batteries. Recently a major upgrade to Dryden's computerized Battery Systems Laboratory was initiated to incorporate distributed processing and a centralized database. The new facility, called the Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory (AESL), is being mechanized with iAPX86 and iAPX286 hardware running iRMX86. The hardware configuration and software structure for the AESL are described.

Software control and system configuration management - A process that works

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, K. L.; Flores, C., Jr.

1983-01-01

A comprehensive software control and system configuration management process for flight-crucial digital control systems of advanced aircraft has been developed and refined to insure efficient flight system development and safe flight operations. Because of the highly complex interactions among the hardware, software, and system elements of state-of-the-art digital flight control system designs, a systems-wide approach to configuration control and management has been used. Specific procedures are implemented to govern discrepancy reporting and reconciliation, software and hardware change control, systems verification and validation testing, and formal documentation requirements. An active and knowledgeable configuration control board reviews and approves all flight system configuration modifications and revalidation tests. This flexible process has proved effective during the development and flight testing of several research aircraft and remotely piloted research vehicles with digital flight control systems that ranged from relatively simple to highly complex, integrated mechanizations.

Recycling Flight Hardware Components and Systems to Reduce Next Generation Research Costs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Wlat

2011-01-01

With the recent 'new direction' put forth by President Obama identifying NASA's new focus in research rather than continuing on a path to return to the Moon and Mars, the focus of work at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) may be changing dramatically. Research opportunities within the micro-gravity community potentially stands at the threshold of resurgence when the new direction of the agency takes hold for the next generation of experimenters. This presentation defines a strategy for recycling flight experiment components or part numbers, in order to reduce research project costs, not just in component selection and fabrication, but in expediting qualification of hardware for flight. A key component of the strategy is effective communication of relevant flight hardware information and available flight hardware components to researchers, with the goal of 'short circuiting' the design process for flight experiments

A prototype space flight intravenous injection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colombo, G. V.

1985-01-01

Medical emergencies, especially those resulting from accidents, frequently require the administration of intravenous fluids to replace lost body liquids. The development of a prototype space flight intravenous injection system is presented. The definition of requirements, injectable concentrates development, water polisher, reconstitution hardware development, administration hardware development, and prototype fabrication and testing are discussed.

Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The full complement of EDOMP investigations called for a broad spectrum of flight hardware ranging from commercial items, modified for spaceflight, to custom designed hardware made to meet the unique requirements of testing in the space environment. In addition, baseline data collection before and after spaceflight required numerous items of ground-based hardware. Two basic categories of ground-based hardware were used in EDOMP testing before and after flight: (1) hardware used for medical baseline testing and analysis, and (2) flight-like hardware used both for astronaut training and medical testing. To ensure post-landing data collection, hardware was required at both the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) landing sites. Items that were very large or sensitive to the rigors of shipping were housed permanently at the landing site test facilities. Therefore, multiple sets of hardware were required to adequately support the prime and backup landing sites plus the Johnson Space Center (JSC) laboratories. Development of flight hardware was a major element of the EDOMP. The challenges included obtaining or developing equipment that met the following criteria: (1) compact (small size and light weight), (2) battery-operated or requiring minimal spacecraft power, (3) sturdy enough to survive the rigors of spaceflight, (4) quiet enough to pass acoustics limitations, (5) shielded and filtered adequately to assure electromagnetic compatibility with spacecraft systems, (6) user-friendly in a microgravity environment, and (7) accurate and efficient operation to meet medical investigative requirements.

Real-Time Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of Ares I Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tobbe, Patrick; Matras, Alex; Walker, David; Wilson, Heath; Fulton, Chris; Alday, Nathan; Betts, Kevin; Hughes, Ryan; Turbe, Michael

2009-01-01

The Ares Real-Time Environment for Modeling, Integration, and Simulation (ARTEMIS) has been developed for use by the Ares I launch vehicle System Integration Laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The primary purpose of the Ares System Integration Laboratory is to test the vehicle avionics hardware and software in a hardware - in-the-loop environment to certify that the integrated system is prepared for flight. ARTEMIS has been designed to be the real-time simulation backbone to stimulate all required Ares components for verification testing. ARTE_VIIS provides high -fidelity dynamics, actuator, and sensor models to simulate an accurate flight trajectory in order to ensure realistic test conditions. ARTEMIS has been designed to take advantage of the advances in underlying computational power now available to support hardware-in-the-loop testing to achieve real-time simulation with unprecedented model fidelity. A modular realtime design relying on a fully distributed computing architecture has been implemented.

First incremental buy for Increment 2 of the Space Transportation System (STS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Thiokol manufactured and delivered 9 flight motors to KSC on schedule. All test flights were successful. All spent SRMs were recovered. Design, development, manufacture, and delivery of required transportation, handling, and checkout equipment to MSFC and to KSC were completed on schedule. All items of data required by DPD 400 were prepared and delivered as directed. In the system requirements and analysis area, the point of departure from Buy 1 to the operational phase was developed in significant detail with a complete set of transition documentation available. The documentation prepared during the Buy 1 program was maintained and updated where required. The following flight support activities should be continued through other production programs: as-built materials usage tracking on all flight hardware; mass properties reporting for all flight hardware until sample size is large enough to verify that the weight limit requirements were met; ballistic predictions and postflight performance assessments for all production flights; and recovered SRM hardware inspection and anomaly identification. In the safety, reliability, and quality assurance area, activities accomplished were assurance oriented in nature and specifically formulated to prevent problems and hardware failures. The flight program to date has adequately demonstrated the success of this assurance approach. The attention focused on details of design, analysis, manufacture, and inspection to assure the production of high-quality hardware has resulted in the absence of flight failures. The few anomalies which did occur were evaluated, design or manufacturing changes incorporated, and corrective actions taken to preclude recurrence.

Flight Design System-1 System Design Document. Volume 9: Executive logic flow, program design language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The detailed logic flow for the Flight Design System Executive is presented. The system is designed to provide the hardware/software capability required for operational support of shuttle flight planning.

Description and Flight Test Results of the NASA F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

A NASA program to develop digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) technology for aircraft applications is discussed. Phase I of the program demonstrated the feasibility of using a digital fly-by-wire system for aircraft control through developing and flight testing a single channel system, which used Apollo hardware, in an F-8C airplane. The objective of Phase II of the program is to establish a technology base for designing practical DFBW systems. It will involve developing and flight testing a triplex digital fly-by-wire system using state-of-the-art airborne computers, system hardware, software, and redundancy concepts. The papers included in this report describe the Phase I system and its development and present results from the flight program. Man-rated flight software and the effects of lightning on digital flight control systems are also discussed.

Orbiter Auxiliary Power Unit Flight Support Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guirl, Robert; Munroe, James; Scott, Walter

1990-01-01

This paper discussed the development of an integrated Orbiter Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and Improved APU (IAPU) Flight Suuport Plan. The plan identifies hardware requirements for continued support of flight activities for the Space Shuttle Orbiter fleet. Each Orbiter vehicle has three APUs that provide power to the hydraulic system for flight control surface actuation, engine gimbaling, landing gear deployment, braking, and steering. The APUs contain hardware that has been found over the course of development and flight history to have operating time and on-vehicle exposure time limits. These APUs will be replaced by IAPUs with enhanced operating lives on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis during scheduled Orbiter modification periods. This Flight Support Plan is used by program management, engineering, logistics, contracts, and procurement groups to establish optimum use of available hardware and replacement quantities and delivery requirements for APUs until vehicle modifications and incorporation of IAPUs. Changes to the flight manifest and program delays are evaluated relative to their impact on hardware availability.

Space Launch System Resource Reel 2017

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-01

NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, will be the most powerful rocket every built, launching astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on missions into deep space. Two solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines will power the massive rocket, providing 8 million pounds of thrust during launch. Production and testing are underway for much of the rocket's critical hardware. With major welding complete on core stage hardware for the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion, the liquid hydrogen tank, intertank and liquid oxygen tank are ready for further outfitting. NASA's barge Pegasus has transported test hardware the first SLS hardware, the engine section to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. In preparation for testing and handling operations, engineers have built the core stage pathfinder, to practice transport without the risk of damaging flight hardware. Integrated structural testing is complete on the top part of the rocket, including the Orion stage adapter, launch vehicle stage adapter and interim cryogenic propulsion stage. The Orion Stage Adapter for SLS's first flight, which will carry 13 CubeSats as secondary payloads, is ready to be outfitted with wiring and brackets. Once structural testing and flight hardware production are complete, the core stage will undergo "green run" testing in the B-2 test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Development of Advanced Spacecraft Thermal Subsystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Didion, Jeffrey R.

2016-01-01

This presentation discusses ground based proof of concept hardware under development at NASA GSFC to address high heat flux thermal management in silicon substrates and embedded thermal management systems. The goal is to develop proof of concept hardware for space flight validation. The space flight hardware will provide gravity insensitive thermal management for electronics applications such as transmit/receive modules that are severely limited by thermal concerns.

A representational basis for the development of a distributed expert system for Space Shuttle flight control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helly, J. J., Jr.; Bates, W. V.; Cutler, M.; Kelem, S.

1984-01-01

A new representation of malfunction procedure logic which permits the automation of these procedures using Boolean normal forms is presented. This representation is discussed in the context of the development of an expert system for space shuttle flight control including software and hardware implementation modes, and a distributed architecture. The roles and responsibility of the flight control team as well as previous work toward the development of expert systems for flight control support at Johnson Space Center are discussed. The notion of malfunction procedures as graphs is introduced as well as the concept of hardware-equivalence.

Propulsion system-flight control integration and optimization: Flight evaluation and technology transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.; Gilyard, Glenn B.; Myers, Lawrence P.

1990-01-01

Integration of propulsion and flight control systems and their optimization offers significant performance improvements. Research programs were conducted which have developed new propulsion and flight control integration concepts, implemented designs on high-performance airplanes, demonstrated these designs in flight, and measured the performance improvements. These programs, first on the YF-12 airplane, and later on the F-15, demonstrated increased thrust, reduced fuel consumption, increased engine life, and improved airplane performance; with improvements in the 5 to 10 percent range achieved with integration and with no changes to hardware. The design, software and hardware developments, and testing requirements were shown to be practical.

Software for Managing Inventory of Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salisbury, John; Savage, Scott; Thomas, Shirman

2003-01-01

The Flight Hardware Support Request System (FHSRS) is a computer program that relieves engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) of most of the non-engineering administrative burden of managing an inventory of flight hardware. The FHSRS can also be adapted to perform similar functions for other organizations. The FHSRS affords a combination of capabilities, including those formerly provided by three separate programs in purchasing, inventorying, and inspecting hardware. The FHSRS provides a Web-based interface with a server computer that supports a relational database of inventory; electronic routing of requests and approvals; and electronic documentation from initial request through implementation of quality criteria, acquisition, receipt, inspection, storage, and final issue of flight materials and components. The database lists both hardware acquired for current projects and residual hardware from previous projects. The increased visibility of residual flight components provided by the FHSRS has dramatically improved the re-utilization of materials in lieu of new procurements, resulting in a cost savings of over $1.7 million. The FHSRS includes subprograms for manipulating the data in the database, informing of the status of a request or an item of hardware, and searching the database on any physical or other technical characteristic of a component or material. The software structure forces normalization of the data to facilitate inquiries and searches for which users have entered mixed or inconsistent values.

Flight code validation simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sims, Brent A.

1996-05-01

An End-To-End Simulation capability for software development and validation of missile flight software on the actual embedded computer has been developed utilizing a 486 PC, i860 DSP coprocessor, embedded flight computer and custom dual port memory interface hardware. This system allows real-time interrupt driven embedded flight software development and checkout. The flight software runs in a Sandia Digital Airborne Computer and reads and writes actual hardware sensor locations in which Inertial Measurement Unit data resides. The simulator provides six degree of freedom real-time dynamic simulation, accurate real-time discrete sensor data and acts on commands and discretes from the flight computer. This system was utilized in the development and validation of the successful premier flight of the Digital Miniature Attitude Reference System in January of 1995 at the White Sands Missile Range on a two stage attitude controlled sounding rocket.

The 30/20 GHz flight experiment system, phase 2. Volume 2: Experiment system description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bronstein, L.; Kawamoto, Y.; Ribarich, J. J.; Scope, J. R.; Forman, B. J.; Bergman, S. G.; Reisenfeld, S.

1981-01-01

A detailed technical description of the 30/20 GHz flight experiment system is presented. The overall communication system is described with performance analyses, communication operations, and experiment plans. Hardware descriptions of the payload are given with the tradeoff studies that led to the final design. The spacecraft bus which carries the payload is discussed and its interface with the launch vehicle system is described. Finally, the hardwares and the operations of the terrestrial segment are presented.

Results of the Stable Microgravity Vibration Isolation Flight Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edberg, Donald; Boucher, Robert; Schenck, David; Nurre, Gerald; Whorton, Mark; Kim, Young; Alhorn, Dean

1996-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the STABLE microgravity isolation system developed and successfully flight tested in October 1995. A description of the hardware design and operational principles is given. A sample of the measured flight data is presented, including an evaluation of attenuation performance provided by the actively controlled electromagnetic isolation system. Preliminary analyses of flight data show that the acceleration environment aboard STABLE's isolated platform was attenuated by a factor of more than 25 between 0.1 and 100 Hz. STABLE was developed under a cooperative agreement between National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. The flight hardware was designed, fabricated, integrated, tested, and delivered to the Cape during a five month period.

Apollo experience report: Television system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coan, P. P.

1973-01-01

The progress of the Apollo television systems from the early definition of requirements through the development and inflight use of color television hardware is presented. Television systems that have been used during the Apollo Program are discussed, beginning with a description of the specifications for each system. The document describes the technical approach taken for the development of each system and discusses the prototype and engineering hardware built to test the system itself and to perform the testing to verify compatibility with the spacecraft systems. Problems that occurred during the design and development phase are described. Finally, the flight hardware, operational characteristics, and performance during several Apollo missions are described, and specific recommendations for the remaining Apollo flights and future space missions are made.

Improvements in flight table dynamic transparency for hardware-in-the-loop facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeMore, Louis A.; Mackin, Rob; Swamp, Michael; Rusterholtz, Roger

2000-07-01

Flight tables are a 'necessary evil' in the Hardware-In-The- Loop (HWIL) simulation. Adding the actual or prototypic flight hardware to the loop, in order to increase the realism of the simulation, forces us to add motion simulation to the process. Flight table motion bases bring unwanted dynamics, non- linearities, transport delays, etc to an already difficult problem sometimes requiring the simulation engineer to compromise the results. We desire that the flight tables be 'dynamically transparent' to the simulation scenario. This paper presents a State Variable Feedback (SVF) control system architecture with feed-forward techniques that improves the flight table's dynamic transparency by significantly reducing the table's low frequency phase lag. We offer some actual results with existing flight tables that demonstrate the improved transparency. These results come from a demonstration conducted on a flight table in the KHILS laboratory at Eglin AFB and during a refurbishment of a flight table for the Boeing Company of St. Charles, Missouri.

Testing flight software on the ground: Introducing the hardware-in-the-loop simulation method to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wenhao; Cai, Xudong; Meng, Qiao

2016-04-01

Complex automatic protection functions are being added to the onboard software of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. A hardware-in-the-loop simulation method has been introduced to overcome the difficulties of ground testing that are brought by hardware and environmental limitations. We invented a time-saving approach by reusing the flight data as the data source of the simulation system instead of mathematical models. This is easy to implement and it works efficiently. This paper presents the system framework, implementation details and some application examples.

Managing Risk for Thermal Vacuum Testing of the International Space Station Radiators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carek, Jerry A.; Beach, Duane E.; Remp, Kerry L.

2000-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is designed with large deployable radiator panels that are used to reject waste heat from the habitation modules. Qualification testing of the Heat Rejection System (HRS) radiators was performed using qualification hardware only. As a result of those tests, over 30 design changes were made to the actual flight hardware. Consequently, a system level test of the flight hardware was needed to validate its performance in the final configuration. A full thermal vacuum test was performed on the flight hardware in order to demonstrate its ability to deploy on-orbit. Since there is an increased level of risk associated with testing flight hardware, because of cost and schedule limitations, special risk mitigation procedures were developed and implemented for the test program, This paper introduces the Continuous Risk Management process that was utilized for the ISS HRS test program. Testing was performed in the Space Power Facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center, Plum Brook Station located in Sandusky, Ohio. The radiator system was installed in the 100-foot diameter by 122-foot tall vacuum chamber on a special deployment track. Radiator deployments were performed at several thermal conditions similar to those expected on-orbit using both the primary deployment mechanism and the back-up deployment mechanism. The tests were highly successful and were completed without incident.

Developmental Flight Instrumentation System for the Crew Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crawford, Kevin; Thomas, John

2006-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is developing a new launch vehicle to replace the Space Shuttle. The Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) will be a combination of new design hardware and heritage Apollo and Space Shuttle hardware. The current CLV configuration is a 5 segment solid rocket booster first stage and a new upper stage design with a modified Apollo era J-2 engine. The current schedule has two test flights with a first stage and a structurally identical, but without engine, upper stage. Then there will be two more test flights with a full complement of flight hardware. After the completion of the test flights, the first manned flight to the International Space Station is scheduled for late 2012. To verify the CLV's design margins a developmental flight instrumentation (DFI) system is needed. The DFI system will collect environmental and health data from the various CLV subsystem's and either transmit it to the ground or store it onboard for later evaluation on the ground. The CLV consists of 4 major elements: the first stage, the upper stage, the upper stage engine and the integration of the first stage, upper stage and upper stage engine. It is anticipated that each of CLVs elements will have some version of DFI. This paper will discuss a conceptual DFI design for each element and also of an integrated CLV DFI system.

Medical evaluations on the KC-135 1991 flight report summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lloyd, Charles W.

1993-01-01

The medical investigations completed on the KC-135 during FY 1991 in support of the development of the Health Maintenance Facility and Medical Operations are presented. The experiments consisted of medical and engineering evaluations of medical hardware and procedures and were conducted by medical and engineering personnel. The hardware evaluated included prototypes of a crew medical restraint system and advanced life support pack, a shuttle orbiter medical system, an airway medical accessory kit, a supplementary extended duration orbiter medical kit, and a surgical overhead canopy. The evaluations will be used to design flight hardware and identify hardware-specific training requirements. The following procedures were evaluated: transport of an ill or injured crewmember at man-tended capability, surgical technique in microgravity, transfer of liquids in microgravity, advanced cardiac life support using man-tended capability Health Maintenance Facility hardware, medical transport using a model of the assured crew return vehicle, and evaluation of delivery mechanisms for aerosolized medications in microgravity. The results of these evaluation flights allow for a better understanding of the types of procedures that can be performed in a microgravity environment.

Bioculture System Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sato, Kevin Y.

2012-01-01

The Bioculture System first flight will be to validate the performance of the hardware and its automated and manual operational capabilities in the space flight environment of the International Space Station. Biology, Engineering, and Operations tests will be conducted in the Bioculture System fully characterize its automated and manual functions to support cell culturing for short and long durations. No hypothesis-driven research will be conducted with biological sample, and the science leads have all provided their concurrence that none of the data they collect will be considered as proprietary and can be free distributed to the science community. The outcome of the validation flight will be to commission the hardware for use by the science community. This presentation will provide non-proprietary details about the Bioculture System and information about the activities for the first flight.

Operating System Abstraction Layer (OSAL)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yanchik, Nicholas J.

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the concept of the Operating System Abstraction Layer (OSAL) and its benefits. The OSAL is A small layer of software that allows programs to run on many different operating systems and hardware platforms It runs independent of the underlying OS & hardware and it is self-contained. The benefits of OSAL are that it removes dependencies from any one operating system, promotes portable, reusable flight software. It allows for Core Flight software (FSW) to be built for multiple processors and operating systems. The presentation discusses the functionality, the various OSAL releases, and describes the specifications.

Marshall Space Flight Center CFD overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schutzenhofer, Luke A.

1989-01-01

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) activities at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have been focused on hardware specific and research applications with strong emphasis upon benchmark validation. The purpose here is to provide insight into the MSFC CFD related goals, objectives, current hardware related CFD activities, propulsion CFD research efforts and validation program, future near-term CFD hardware related programs, and CFD expectations. The current hardware programs where CFD has been successfully applied are the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME), Alternate Turbopump Development (ATD), and Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE). For the future near-term CFD hardware related activities, plans are being developed that address the implementation of CFD into the early design stages of the Space Transportation Main Engine (STME), Space Transportation Booster Engine (STBE), and the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) for the Space Station. Finally, CFD expectations in the design environment will be delineated.

Storage Information Management System (SIMS) Spaceflight Hardware Warehousing at Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kubicko, Richard M.; Bingham, Lindy

1995-01-01

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) on site and leased warehouses contain thousands of items of ground support equipment (GSE) and flight hardware including spacecraft, scaffolding, computer racks, stands, holding fixtures, test equipment, spares, etc. The control of these warehouses, and the management, accountability, and control of the items within them, is accomplished by the Logistics Management Division. To facilitate this management and tracking effort, the Logistics and Transportation Management Branch, is developing a system to provide warehouse personnel, property owners, and managers with storage and inventory information. This paper will describe that PC-based system and address how it will improve GSFC warehouse and storage management.

CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems): International Space Station (ISS) Medical Hardware Catalog. Version 10.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this catalog is to provide a detailed description of each piece of hardware in the Crew Health Care System (CHeCS), including subpacks associated with the hardware, and to briefly describe the interfaces between the hardware and the ISS. The primary user of this document is the Space Medicine/Medical Operations ISS Biomedical Flight Controllers (ISS BMEs).

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 1: base nuclear system safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The mission and terrestrial nuclear safety aspects of future long duration manned space missions in low earth orbit are discussed. Nuclear hazards of a typical low earth orbit Space Base mission (from natural sources and on-board nuclear hardware) have been identified and evaluated. Some of the principal nuclear safety design and procedural considerations involved in launch, orbital, and end of mission operations are presented. Areas of investigation include radiation interactions with the crew, subsystems, facilities, experiments, film, interfacing vehicles, nuclear hardware and the terrestrial populace. Results of the analysis indicate: (1) the natural space environment can be the dominant radiation source in a low earth orbit where reactors are effectively shielded, (2) with implementation of safety guidelines the reactor can present a low risk to the crew, support personnel, the terrestrial populace, flight hardware and the mission, (3) ten year missions are feasible without exceeding integrated radiation limits assigned to flight hardware, and (4) crew stay-times up to one year are feasible without storm shelter provisions.

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Flight System Integration at Its Best

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, T. David; Kanner, Howard S.; Freeland, Donna M.; Olson, Derek T.

2011-01-01

The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads, environments and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. However, the in-flight data and postflight assessment process revealed the hardware was affected much more strongly than originally anticipated. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems required acceptance testing of reused hardware components for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges and technical issues, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.

Test Hardware Design for Flight-Like Operation of Advanced Stirling Convertors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oriti, Salvatore M.

2012-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been supporting development of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) since 2006. A key element of the ASRG project is providing life, reliability, and performance testing of the Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC). For this purpose, the Thermal Energy Conversion branch at GRC has been conducting extended operation of a multitude of free-piston Stirling convertors. The goal of this effort is to generate long-term performance data (tens of thousands of hours) simultaneously on multiple units to build a life and reliability database. The test hardware for operation of these convertors was designed to permit in-air investigative testing, such as performance mapping over a range of environmental conditions. With this, there was no requirement to accurately emulate the flight hardware. For the upcoming ASC-E3 units, the decision has been made to assemble the convertors into a flight-like configuration. This means the convertors will be arranged in the dual-opposed configuration in a housing that represents the fit, form, and thermal function of the ASRG. The goal of this effort is to enable system level tests that could not be performed with the traditional test hardware at GRC. This offers the opportunity to perform these system-level tests much earlier in the ASRG flight development, as they would normally not be performed until fabrication of the qualification unit. This paper discusses the requirements, process, and results of this flight-like hardware design activity.

NASA Hardware Heads to Kennedy For Flight Preparations

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-24

The Orion stage adapter will be part of the first integrated flight of NASA's heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft. The adapter, approximately 5 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter, was designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with advanced friction stir welding technology. It will connect the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage to Orion on the first flight that will help engineers check out and verify the agency's new deep-space exploration systems. Inside the adapter, engineers installed special brackets and cabling for the 13 CubeSats that will fly as secondary payloads. The Cubesats are boot-box-sized science and technology investigations that will help pave the way for future human exploration in deep space. The Orion stage adapter flight article recently finished major testing of the avionics system that will deploy the CubeSats. Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, will install the secondary payloads and engineers will examine the hardware before it is stacked on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage in the Vehicle Assembly Building prior to launch. For more information about SLS hardware, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Design Process of Flight Vehicle Structures for a Common Bulkhead and an MPCV Spacecraft Adapter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aggarwal, Pravin; Hull, Patrick V.

2015-01-01

Design and manufacturing space flight vehicle structures is a skillset that has grown considerably at NASA during that last several years. Beginning with the Ares program and followed by the Space Launch System (SLS); in-house designs were produced for both the Upper Stage and the SLS Multipurpose crew vehicle (MPCV) spacecraft adapter. Specifically, critical design review (CDR) level analysis and flight production drawing were produced for the above mentioned hardware. In particular, the experience of this in-house design work led to increased manufacturing infrastructure for both Marshal Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), improved skillsets in both analysis and design, and hands on experience in building and testing (MSA) full scale hardware. The hardware design and development processes from initiation to CDR and finally flight; resulted in many challenges and experiences that produced valuable lessons. This paper builds on these experiences of NASA in recent years on designing and fabricating flight hardware and examines the design/development processes used, as well as the challenges and lessons learned, i.e. from the initial design, loads estimation and mass constraints to structural optimization/affordability to release of production drawing to hardware manufacturing. While there are many documented design processes which a design engineer can follow, these unique experiences can offer insight into designing hardware in current program environments and present solutions to many of the challenges experienced by the engineering team.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tenney, J.L.

SARS is a data acquisition system designed to gather and process radar data from aircraft flights. A database of flight trajectories has been developed for Albuquerque, NM, and Amarillo, TX. The data is used for safety analysis and risk assessment reports. To support this database effort, Sandia developed a collection of hardware and software tools to collect and post process the aircraft radar data. This document describes the data reduction tools which comprise the SARS, and maintenance procedures for the hardware and software system.

An evaluation of Skylab habitability hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stokes, J.

1974-01-01

For effective mission performance, participants in space missions lasting 30-60 days or longer must be provided with hardware to accommodate their personal needs. Such habitability hardware was provided on Skylab. Equipment defined as habitability hardware was that equipment composing the food system, water system, sleep system, waste management system, personal hygiene system, trash management system, and entertainment equipment. Equipment not specifically defined as habitability hardware but which served that function were the Wardroom window, the exercise equipment, and the intercom system, which was occasionally used for private communications. All Skylab habitability hardware generally functioned as intended for the three missions, and most items could be considered as adequate concepts for future flights of similar duration. Specific components were criticized for their shortcomings.

Microgravity Flight - Accommodating Non-Human Primates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalton, Bonnie P.; Searby, Nancy; Ostrach, Louis

1994-01-01

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights. The RRF accommodated two adult 8-11 kg rhesus monkeys, while the Russian experiments and hardware were configured for a younger animal in the 44 kg range. Both the American and Russian hardware maintained a controlled environmental system, specifically temperature, humidity, a timed lighting cycle, and had means for providing food and fluids to the animal(s). Crew availability during a Shuttle mission was to be an optimal condition for retrieval and refrigeration of the animal urine samples along with a manual calcein injection which could lead to greater understanding of bone calcium incorporation. A special portable bioisolation glove box was under development to support this aspect of the experiment profile along with the capability of any contingency human intervention. As a result of recent U.S./Russian negotiations, funding for Space Station, and a series of other events, the SLS-3 mission was cancelled and applicable Rhesus Project experiments incorporated into the Russian Bion 11 and 12 missions. A presentation of the RRF and COSMOS/Bion rhesus hardware is presented along with current plans for the hardware.

Microgravity Flight: Accommodating Non-Human Primates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalton, Bonnie P.; Searby, Nancy; Ostrach, Louis

1995-01-01

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights. The RRF accommodated two adult 8-11 kg rhesus monkeys, while the Russian experiments and hardware were configured for a younger animal in the 44 kg range. Both the American and Russian hardware maintained a controlled environmental system, specifically temperature, humidity, a timed lighting cycle, and had means for providing food and fluids to the animal(s). Crew availability during a Shuttle mission was to be an optimal condition for retrieval and refrigeration of the animal urine samples along with a manual calcein injection which could lead to greater understanding of bone calcium incorporation. A special portable bioisolation glove box was under development to support this aspect of the experiment profile along with the capability of any contingency human intervention. As a result of recent U.S./Russian negotiations, funding for Space Station, and a series of other events, the SLS-3 mission was cancelled and applicable Rhesus Project experiments incorporated into the Russian Bion 11 and 12 missions. A presentation of the RRF and COSMOS/Bion rhesus hardware is presented along with current plans for the hardware.

Cooperative GN&C development in a rapid prototyping environment. [flight software design for space vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bordano, Aldo; Uhde-Lacovara, JO; Devall, Ray; Partin, Charles; Sugano, Jeff; Doane, Kent; Compton, Jim

1993-01-01

The Navigation, Control and Aeronautics Division (NCAD) at NASA-JSC is exploring ways of producing Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) flight software faster, better, and cheaper. To achieve these goals NCAD established two hardware/software facilities that take an avionics design project from initial inception through high fidelity real-time hardware-in-the-loop testing. Commercially available software products are used to develop the GN&C algorithms in block diagram form and then automatically generate source code from these diagrams. A high fidelity real-time hardware-in-the-loop laboratory provides users with the capability to analyze mass memory usage within the targeted flight computer, verify hardware interfaces, conduct system level verification, performance, acceptance testing, as well as mission verification using reconfigurable and mission unique data. To evaluate these concepts and tools, NCAD embarked on a project to build a real-time 6 DOF simulation of the Soyuz Assured Crew Return Vehicle flight software. To date, a productivity increase of 185 percent has been seen over traditional NASA methods for developing flight software.

Ares I-X: On the Threshold of Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephan R.; Askins, Bruce

2009-01-01

Ares I-X, the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, is less than a year from launch. Ares I-X will test the flight characteristics of Ares I from liftoff to first stage separation and recovery. The flight also will demonstrate the computer hardware and software (avionics) needed to control the vehicle; deploy the parachutes that allow the first stage booster to land in the ocean safely; measure and control how much the rocket rolls during flight; test and measure the effects of first stage separation; and develop and try out new ground handling and rocket stacking procedures in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and first stage recovery procedures at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. All Ares I-X major elements have completed their critical design reviews, and are nearing final fabrication. The first stage--four-segment solid rocket booster from the Space Shuttle inventory--incorporates new simulated forward structures to match the Ares I five-segment booster. The upper stage, Orion crew module, and launch abort system will comprise simulator hardware that incorporates developmental flight instrumentation for essential data collection during the mission. The upper stage simulator consists of smaller cylindrical segments, which were transported to KSC in fall 2008. The crew module and launch abort system simulator were shipped in December 2008. The first stage hardware, active roll control system (RoCS), and avionics components will be delivered to KSC in 2009. This paper will provide detailed statuses of the Ares I-X hardware elements as NASA's Constellation Program prepares for this first flight of a new exploration era in the summer of 2009.

Full-Scaled Advanced Systems Testbed: Ensuring Success of Adaptive Control Research Through Project Lifecycle Risk Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pavlock, Kate M.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center completed flight testing of adaptive controls research on the Full-Scale Advance Systems Testbed (FAST) in January of 2011. The research addressed technical challenges involved with reducing risk in an increasingly complex and dynamic national airspace. Specific challenges lie with the development of validated, multidisciplinary, integrated aircraft control design tools and techniques to enable safe flight in the presence of adverse conditions such as structural damage, control surface failures, or aerodynamic upsets. The testbed is an F-18 aircraft serving as a full-scale vehicle to test and validate adaptive flight control research and lends a significant confidence to the development, maturation, and acceptance process of incorporating adaptive control laws into follow-on research and the operational environment. The experimental systems integrated into FAST were designed to allow for flexible yet safe flight test evaluation and validation of modern adaptive control technologies and revolve around two major hardware upgrades: the modification of Production Support Flight Control Computers (PSFCC) and integration of two, fourth-generation Airborne Research Test Systems (ARTS). Post-hardware integration verification and validation provided the foundation for safe flight test of Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion and Model Reference Aircraft Control adaptive control law experiments. To ensure success of flight in terms of cost, schedule, and test results, emphasis on risk management was incorporated into early stages of design and flight test planning and continued through the execution of each flight test mission. Specific consideration was made to incorporate safety features within the hardware and software to alleviate user demands as well as into test processes and training to reduce human factor impacts to safe and successful flight test. This paper describes the research configuration, experiment functionality, overall risk mitigation, flight test approach and results, and lessons learned of adaptive controls research of the Full-Scale Advanced Systems Testbed.

Orbiter subsystem hardware/software interaction analysis. Volume 8: AFT reaction control system, part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, D. D.

1980-01-01

The orbiter subsystems and interfacing program elements which interact with the orbiter computer flight software are analyzed. The failure modes identified in the subsystem/element failure mode and effects analysis are examined. Potential interaction with the software is examined through an evaluation of the software requirements. The analysis is restricted to flight software requirements and excludes utility/checkout software. The results of the hardware/software interaction analysis for the forward reaction control system are presented.

The Art of Space Flight Exercise Hardware: Design and Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyene, Nahom M.

2004-01-01

The design of space flight exercise hardware depends on experience with crew health maintenance in a microgravity environment, history in development of flight-quality exercise hardware, and a foundation for certifying proper project management and design methodology. Developed over the past 40 years, the expertise in designing exercise countermeasures hardware at the Johnson Space Center stems from these three aspects of design. The medical community has steadily pursued an understanding of physiological changes in humans in a weightless environment and methods of counteracting negative effects on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system. The effects of weightlessness extend to the pulmonary and neurovestibular system as well with conditions ranging from motion sickness to loss of bone density. Results have shown losses in water weight and muscle mass in antigravity muscle groups. With the support of university-based research groups and partner space agencies, NASA has identified exercise to be the primary countermeasure for long-duration space flight. The history of exercise hardware began during the Apollo Era and leads directly to the present hardware on the International Space Station. Under the classifications of aerobic and resistive exercise, there is a clear line of development from the early devices to the countermeasures hardware used today. In support of all engineering projects, the engineering directorate has created a structured framework for project management. Engineers have identified standards and "best practices" to promote efficient and elegant design of space exercise hardware. The quality of space exercise hardware depends on how well hardware requirements are justified by exercise performance guidelines and crew health indicators. When considering the microgravity environment of the device, designers must consider performance of hardware separately from the combined human-in-hardware system. Astronauts are the caretakers of the hardware while it is deployed and conduct all sanitization, calibration, and maintenance for the devices. Thus, hardware designs must account for these issues with a goal of minimizing crew time on orbit required to complete these tasks. In the future, humans will venture to Mars and exercise countermeasures will play a critical role in allowing us to continue in our spirit of exploration. NASA will benefit from further experimentation on Earth, through the International Space Station, and with advanced biomechanical models to quantify how each device counteracts specific symptoms of weightlessness. With the continued support of international space agencies and the academic research community, we will usher the next frontier in human space exploration.

Oxygen Generation System Laptop Bus Controller Flight Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rowe, Chad; Panter, Donna

2009-01-01

The Oxygen Generation System Laptop Bus Controller Flight Software was developed to allow the International Space Station (ISS) program to activate specific components of the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) to perform a checkout of key hardware operation in a microgravity environment, as well as to perform preventative maintenance operations of system valves during a long period of what would otherwise be hardware dormancy. The software provides direct connectivity to the OGS Firmware Controller with pre-programmed tasks operated by on-orbit astronauts to exercise OGS valves and motors. The software is used to manipulate the pump, separator, and valves to alleviate the concerns of hardware problems due to long-term inactivity and to allow for operational verification of microgravity-sensitive components early enough so that, if problems are found, they can be addressed before the hardware is required for operation on-orbit. The decision was made to use existing on-orbit IBM ThinkPad A31p laptops and MIL-STD-1553B interface cards as the hardware configuration. The software at the time of this reporting was developed and tested for use under the Windows 2000 Professional operating system to ensure compatibility with the existing on-orbit computer systems.

NASA Ames Research Center R and D Services Directorate Biomedical Systems Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pollitt, J.; Flynn, K.

1999-01-01

The Ames Research Center R&D Services Directorate teams with NASA, other government agencies and/or industry investigators for the development, design, fabrication, manufacturing and qualification testing of space-flight and ground-based experiment hardware for biomedical and general aerospace applications. In recent years, biomedical research hardware and software has been developed to support space-flight and ground-based experiment needs including the E 132 Biotelemetry system for the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF), E 100 Neurolab neuro-vestibular investigation systems, the Autogenic Feedback Systems, and the Standard Interface Glove Box (SIGB) experiment workstation module. Centrifuges, motion simulators, habitat design, environmental control systems, and other unique experiment modules and fixtures have also been developed. A discussion of engineered systems and capabilities will be provided to promote understanding of possibilities for future system designs in biomedical applications. In addition, an overview of existing engineered products will be shown. Examples of hardware and literature that demonstrate the organization's capabilities will be displayed. The Ames Research Center R&D Services Directorate is available to support the development of new hardware and software systems or adaptation of existing systems to meet the needs of academic, commercial/industrial, and government research requirements. The Ames R&D Services Directorate can provide specialized support for: System concept definition and feasibility Mathematical modeling and simulation of system performance Prototype hardware development Hardware and software design Data acquisition systems Graphical user interface development Motion control design Hardware fabrication and high-fidelity machining Composite materials development and application design Electronic/electrical system design and fabrication System performance verification testing and qualification.

Research and Technology Report. Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Maran, Stephen (Editor); Walter, Lou (Editor); Brown, Mitch (Editor)

1996-01-01

This issue of Goddard Space Flight Center's annual report highlights the importance of mission operations and data systems covering mission planning and operations; TDRSS, positioning systems, and orbit determination; ground system and networks, hardware and software; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web use. The report also includes flight projects, space sciences, Earth system science, and engineering and materials.

CHeCS: International Space Station Medical Hardware Catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The purpose of this catalog is to provide a detailed description of each piece of hardware in the Crew Health Care System (CHeCS), including subpacks associated with the hardware, and to briefly describe the interfaces between the hardware and the ISS. The primary user of this document is the Space Medicine/Medical Operations ISS Biomedical Flight Controllers (ISS BMEs).

Concept report: Experimental vector magnetograph (EXVM) operational configuration balloon flight assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

The observational limitations of earth bound solar studies has prompted a great deal of interest in recent months in being able to gain new scientific perspectives through, what should prove to be, relatively low cost flight of the magnetograph system. The ground work done by TBE for the solar balloon missions (originally planned for SOUP and GRID) as well as the rather advanced state of assembly of the EXVM has allowed the quick formulation of a mission concept for the 30 cm system currently being assembled. The flight system operational configuration will be discussed as it is proposed for short duration flight (on the order of one day) over the continental United States. Balloon hardware design requirements used in formulation of the concept are those set by the National Science Balloon Facility (NSBF), the support agency under NASA contract for flight services. The concept assumes that the flight hardware assembly would come together from three development sources: the scientific investigator package, the integration contractor package, and the NSBF support system. The majority of these three separate packages can be independently developed; however, the computer control interfaces and telemetry links would require extensive preplanning and coordination. A special section of this study deals with definition of a dedicated telemetry link to be provided by the integration contractor for video image data for pointing system performance verification. In this study the approach has been to capitalize to the maximum extent possible on existing hardware and system design. This is the most prudent step that can be taken to reduce eventual program cost for long duration flights. By fielding the existing EXVM as quickly as possible, experience could be gained from several short duration flight tests before it became necessary to commit to major upgrades for long duration flights of this system or of the larger 60 cm version being considered for eventual development.

Lessons learned in creating spacecraft computer systems: Implications for using Ada (R) for the space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tomayko, James E.

1986-01-01

Twenty-five years of spacecraft onboard computer development have resulted in a better understanding of the requirements for effective, efficient, and fault tolerant flight computer systems. Lessons from eight flight programs (Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle, Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo) and three reserach programs (digital fly-by-wire, STAR, and the Unified Data System) are useful in projecting the computer hardware configuration of the Space Station and the ways in which the Ada programming language will enhance the development of the necessary software. The evolution of hardware technology, fault protection methods, and software architectures used in space flight in order to provide insight into the pending development of such items for the Space Station are reviewed.

Hardware Implementation of COTS Avionics System on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeh, Yoo-Hsiu; Kumar, Parth; Ishihara, Abraham; Ippolito, Corey

2010-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can serve as low cost and low risk platforms for flight testing in Aeronautics research. The NASA Exploration Aerial Vehicle (EAV) and Experimental Sensor-Controlled Aerial Vehicle (X-SCAV) UAVs were developed in support of control systems research at NASA Ames Research Center. The avionics hardware for both systems has been redesigned and updated, and the structure of the EAV has been further strengthened. Preliminary tests show the avionics operate properly in the new configuration. A linear model for the EAV also was estimated from flight data, and was verified in simulation. These modifications and results prepare the EAV and X-SCAV to be used in a wide variety of flight research projects.

A High-Throughput Processor for Flight Control Research Using Small UAVs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klenke, Robert H.; Sleeman, W. C., IV; Motter, Mark A.

2006-01-01

There are numerous autopilot systems that are commercially available for small (<100 lbs) UAVs. However, they all share several key disadvantages for conducting aerodynamic research, chief amongst which is the fact that most utilize older, slower, 8- or 16-bit microcontroller technologies. This paper describes the development and testing of a flight control system (FCS) for small UAV s based on a modern, high throughput, embedded processor. In addition, this FCS platform contains user-configurable hardware resources in the form of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that can be used to implement custom, application-specific hardware. This hardware can be used to off-load routine tasks such as sensor data collection, from the FCS processor thereby further increasing the computational throughput of the system.

The design, fabrication and delivery of a spacelab neutral buoyancy Instrument Pointing System (IPS) mockup. [underwater training simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanvalkenburgh, C. N.

1984-01-01

Underwater simulations of EVA contingency operations such as manual jettison, payload disconnect, and payload clamp actuation were used to define crew aid needs and mockup pecularities and characteristics to verify the validity of simulation using the trainer. A set of mockup instrument pointing system tests was conducted and minor modifications and refinements were made. Flight configuration struts were tested and verified to be operable by the flight crew. Tasks involved in developing the following end items are described: IPS gimbal system, payload, and payload clamp assembly; the igloos (volumetric); spacelab pallets, experiments, and hardware; experiment, and hardware; experiment 7; and EVA hand tools, support hardware (handrails and foot restraints). The test plan preparation and test support are also covered.

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility make final adjustments to the Flight Support System (FSS) for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The FSS is reusable flight hardware that provides the mechanical, structural and electrical interfaces between HST, the space support equipment and the orbiter for payload retrieval and on-orbit servicing. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility make final adjustments to the Flight Support System (FSS) for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The FSS is reusable flight hardware that provides the mechanical, structural and electrical interfaces between HST, the space support equipment and the orbiter for payload retrieval and on-orbit servicing. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

Virtual Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hammrs, Stephan R.

2008-01-01

Virtual Satellite (VirtualSat) is a computer program that creates an environment that facilitates the development, verification, and validation of flight software for a single spacecraft or for multiple spacecraft flying in formation. In this environment, enhanced functionality and autonomy of navigation, guidance, and control systems of a spacecraft are provided by a virtual satellite that is, a computational model that simulates the dynamic behavior of the spacecraft. Within this environment, it is possible to execute any associated software, the development of which could benefit from knowledge of, and possible interaction (typically, exchange of data) with, the virtual satellite. Examples of associated software include programs for simulating spacecraft power and thermal- management systems. This environment is independent of the flight hardware that will eventually host the flight software, making it possible to develop the software simultaneously with, or even before, the hardware is delivered. Optionally, by use of interfaces included in VirtualSat, hardware can be used instead of simulated. The flight software, coded in the C or C++ programming language, is compilable and loadable into VirtualSat without any special modifications. Thus, VirtualSat can serve as a relatively inexpensive software test-bed for development test, integration, and post-launch maintenance of spacecraft flight software.

Lessons Learned from the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrison, Matt; Patel, Deepak; Bradshaw, Heather; Robinson, Frank; Neuberger, Dave

2016-01-01

The ICESat-2 Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument is an upcoming Earth Science mission focusing on the effects of climate change. The flight instrument passed all environmental testing at GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) and is now ready to be shipped to the spacecraft vendor for integration and testing. This presentation walks through the lessons learned from design, hardware, analysis and testing perspective. ATLAS lessons learned include general thermal design, analysis, hardware, and testing issues as well as lessons specific to laser systems, two-phase thermal control, and optical assemblies with precision alignment requirements.

Effects of long-term exposure on LDEF fastener assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spear, Steve; Dursch, Harry

1992-09-01

This presentation summarizes the Systems Special Investigations Group (SIG) findings from testing and analysis of fastener assemblies used on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) structure, the tray mounting clamps, and by the various experimenters. The LDEF deintegration team and several experimenters noted severe fastener damage and hardware removal difficulties during post-flight activities. The System SIG has investigated all reported instances, and in all cases examined to date, the difficulties were attributed to galling during installation or post-flight removal. To date, no evidence of coldwelding was found. Correct selection of materials and lubricants as well as proper mechanical procedures is essential to ensure successful on-orbit or post-flight installation and removal of hardware.

Effects of long-term exposure on LDEF fastener assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spear, Steve; Dursch, Harry

1992-01-01

This presentation summarizes the Systems Special Investigations Group (SIG) findings from testing and analysis of fastener assemblies used on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) structure, the tray mounting clamps, and by the various experimenters. The LDEF deintegration team and several experimenters noted severe fastener damage and hardware removal difficulties during post-flight activities. The System SIG has investigated all reported instances, and in all cases examined to date, the difficulties were attributed to galling during installation or post-flight removal. To date, no evidence of coldwelding was found. Correct selection of materials and lubricants as well as proper mechanical procedures is essential to ensure successful on-orbit or post-flight installation and removal of hardware.

Orbiter subsystem hardware/software interaction analysis. Volume 8: Forward reaction control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, D. D.

1980-01-01

The results of the orbiter hardware/software interaction analysis for the AFT reaction control system are presented. The interaction between hardware failure modes and software are examined in order to identify associated issues and risks. All orbiter subsystems and interfacing program elements which interact with the orbiter computer flight software are analyzed. The failure modes identified in the subsystem/element failure mode and effects analysis are discussed.

Porting the Core Flight System to the Dellingr Cubesat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cudmore, Alan

2017-01-01

Dellingr is a 6U Cubesat developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It was delivered to the International Space Station in August 2017, and is scheduled to be deployed in November 2017. Compared to a typical NASA satellite, the Dellingr Cubesat had an extremely low budget and short schedule. Although the Dellingr Cubesat has minimal hardware resources, the cFS was ultimately chosen for the flight software. Using the cFS on the Dellingr Cubesat presented a few challenges, but also offered opportunities to help speed up development and verify the ACS flight software. This presentation will cover the lessons learned in porting the cFS to the Dellingr Cubesat, including working with the limited hardware resources, porting the cFS to FreeRTOS, and overcoming limitations related to data storage and file transfer. This presentation will also cover how hardware abstraction was used to run the flight software on multiple platforms and interface with the 42 dynamic simulator.

VEG-01: Veggie Hardware Verification Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, Gioia; Newsham, Gary; Hummerick, Mary; Morrow, Robert; Wheeler, Raymond

2013-01-01

The Veggie plant/vegetable production system is scheduled to fly on ISS at the end of2013. Since much of the technology associated with Veggie has not been previously tested in microgravity, a hardware validation flight was initiated. This test will allow data to be collected about Veggie hardware functionality on ISS, allow crew interactions to be vetted for future improvements, validate the ability of the hardware to grow and sustain plants, and collect data that will be helpful to future Veggie investigators as they develop their payloads. Additionally, food safety data on the lettuce plants grown will be collected to help support the development of a pathway for the crew to safely consume produce grown on orbit. Significant background research has been performed on the Veggie plant growth system, with early tests focusing on the development of the rooting pillow concept, and the selection of fertilizer, rooting medium and plant species. More recent testing has been conducted to integrate the pillow concept into the Veggie hardware and to ensure that adequate water is provided throughout the growth cycle. Seed sanitation protocols have been established for flight, and hardware sanitation between experiments has been studied. Methods for shipping and storage of rooting pillows and the development of crew procedures and crew training videos for plant activities on-orbit have been established. Science verification testing was conducted and lettuce plants were successfully grown in prototype Veggie hardware, microbial samples were taken, plant were harvested, frozen, stored and later analyzed for microbial growth, nutrients, and A TP levels. An additional verification test, prior to the final payload verification testing, is desired to demonstrate similar growth in the flight hardware and also to test a second set of pillows containing zinnia seeds. Issues with root mat water supply are being resolved, with final testing and flight scheduled for later in 2013.

Test Hardware Design for Flightlike Operation of Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC-E3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oriti, Salvatore M.

2012-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been supporting development of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) since 2006. A key element of the ASRG project is providing life, reliability, and performance testing of the Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC). For this purpose, the Thermal Energy Conversion branch at GRC has been conducting extended operation of a multitude of free-piston Stirling convertors. The goal of this effort is to generate long-term performance data (tens of thousands of hours) simultaneously on multiple units to build a life and reliability database. The test hardware for operation of these convertors was designed to permit in-air investigative testing, such as performance mapping over a range of environmental conditions. With this, there was no requirement to accurately emulate the flight hardware. For the upcoming ASC-E3 units, the decision has been made to assemble the convertors into a flight-like configuration. This means the convertors will be arranged in the dual-opposed configuration in a housing that represents the fit, form, and thermal function of the ASRG. The goal of this effort is to enable system level tests that could not be performed with the traditional test hardware at GRC. This offers the opportunity to perform these system-level tests much earlier in the ASRG flight development, as they would normally not be performed until fabrication of the qualification unit. This paper discusses the requirements, process, and results of this flight-like hardware design activity.

Fiber Optic Control System integration for advanced aircraft. Electro-optic and sensor fabrication, integration, and environmental testing for flight control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seal, Daniel W.; Weaver, Thomas L.; Kessler, Bradley L.; Bedoya, Carlos A.; Mattes, Robert E.

1994-01-01

This report describes the design, development, and testing of passive fiber optic sensors and a multiplexing electro-optic architecture (EOA) for installation and flight test on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. This hardware was developed under the Fiber Optic Control Systems for Advanced Aircraft program, part of a multiyear NASA initiative to design, develop, and demonstrate through flight test 'fly-by-light' systems for application to advanced aircraft flight and propulsion control. This development included the design and production of 10 passive optical sensors and associated multiplexed EOA hardware based on wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) technology. A variety of sensor types (rotary position, linear position, temperature, and pressure) incorporating a broad range of sensor technologies (WDM analog, WDM digital, analog microbend, and fluorescent time rate of decay) were obtained from different manufacturers and functionally integrated with an independently designed EOA. The sensors were built for installation in a variety of aircraft locations, placing the sensors in a variety of harsh environments. The sensors and EOA were designed and built to have the resulting devices be as close as practical to a production system. The integrated system was delivered to NASA for flight testing on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. Development and integration testing of the system provided valuable information as to which sensor types were simplest to design and build for a military aircraft environment and which types were simplest to operate with a multiplexed EOA. Not all sensor types met the full range of performance and environmental requirements. EOA development problems provided information on directions to pursue in future fly-by-light flight control development programs. Lessons learned in the development of the EOA and sensor hardware are summarized.

Fiber Optic Control System integration for advanced aircraft. Electro-optic and sensor fabrication, integration, and environmental testing for flight control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seal, Daniel W.; Weaver, Thomas L.; Kessler, Bradley L.; Bedoya, Carlos A.; Mattes, Robert E.

1994-11-01

This report describes the design, development, and testing of passive fiber optic sensors and a multiplexing electro-optic architecture (EOA) for installation and flight test on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. This hardware was developed under the Fiber Optic Control Systems for Advanced Aircraft program, part of a multiyear NASA initiative to design, develop, and demonstrate through flight test 'fly-by-light' systems for application to advanced aircraft flight and propulsion control. This development included the design and production of 10 passive optical sensors and associated multiplexed EOA hardware based on wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) technology. A variety of sensor types (rotary position, linear position, temperature, and pressure) incorporating a broad range of sensor technologies (WDM analog, WDM digital, analog microbend, and fluorescent time rate of decay) were obtained from different manufacturers and functionally integrated with an independently designed EOA. The sensors were built for installation in a variety of aircraft locations, placing the sensors in a variety of harsh environments. The sensors and EOA were designed and built to have the resulting devices be as close as practical to a production system. The integrated system was delivered to NASA for flight testing on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. Development and integration testing of the system provided valuable information as to which sensor types were simplest to design and build for a military aircraft environment and which types were simplest to operate with a multiplexed EOA. Not all sensor types met the full range of performance and environmental requirements. EOA development problems provided information on directions to pursue in future fly-by-light flight control development programs. Lessons learned in the development of the EOA and sensor hardware are summarized.

FLASH fly-by-light flight control demonstration results overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halski, Don J.

1996-10-01

The Fly-By-Light Advanced Systems Hardware (FLASH) program developed Fly-By-Light (FBL) and Power-By-Wire (PBW) technologies for military and commercial aircraft. FLASH consists of three tasks. Task 1 developed the fiber optic cable, connectors, testers and installation and maintenance procedures. Task 3 developed advanced smart, rotary thin wing and electro-hydrostatic (EHA) actuators. Task 2, which is the subject of this paper,l focused on integration of fiber optic sensors and data buses with cable plant components from Task 1 and actuators from Task 3 into centralized and distributed flight control systems. Both open loop and piloted hardware-in-the-loop demonstrations were conducted with centralized and distributed flight control architectures incorporating the AS-1773A optical bus, active hand controllers, optical sensors, optimal flight control laws in high speed 32-bit processors, and neural networks for EHA monitoring and fault diagnosis. This paper overviews the systems level testing conducted under the FLASH Flight Control task. Preliminary results are summarized. Companion papers provide additional information.

Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (OAWL): aircraft test-flight history and current plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, Sara C.; Weimer, Carl; Adkins, Mike; Delker, Tom; Gleeson, David; Kaptchen, Paul; Good, Bill; Kaplan, Mike; Applegate, Jeff; Taudien, Glenn

2015-09-01

To address mission risk and cost limitations the US has faced in putting a much needed Doppler wind lidar into space, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp, with support from NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), has developed the Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (OAWL), designed to measure winds from aerosol backscatter at the 355 nm or 532 nm wavelengths. Preliminary proof of concept hardware efforts started at Ball back in 2004. From 2008 to 2012, under an ESTO-funded Instrument Incubator Program, Ball incorporated the Optical Autocovariance (OA) interferometer receiver into a prototype breadboard lidar system by adding a laser, telescope, and COTS-based data system for operation at the 355 nm wavelength. In 2011, the prototype system underwent ground-based validation testing, and three months later, after hardware and software modifications to ensure autonomous operation and aircraft safety, it was flown on the NASA WB-57 aircraft. The history of the 2011 test flights are reviewed, including efforts to get the system qualified for aircraft flights, modifications made during the flight test period, and the final flight data results. We also present lessons learned and plans for the new, robust, two-wavelength, aircraft system with flight demonstrations planned for Spring 2016.

Contamination Examples and Lessons from Low Earth Orbit Experiments and Operational Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, Gary; Finckenor, Miria M.

2009-01-01

Flight experiments flown on the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, Mir, Skylab, and free flyers such as the Long Duration Exposure Facility, the European Retrievable Carrier, and the EFFU, provide multiple opportunities for the investigation of molecular contamination effects. Retrieved hardware from the Solar Maximum Mission satellite, Mir, and the Hubble Space Telescope has also provided the means gaining insight into contamination processes. Images from the above mentioned hardware show contamination effects due to materials processing, hardware storage, pre-flight cleaning, as well as on-orbit events such as outgassing, mechanical failure of hardware in close proximity, impacts from man-made debris, and changes due to natural environment factors.. Contamination effects include significant changes to thermal and electrical properties of thermal control surfaces, optics, and power systems. Data from several flights has been used to develop a rudimentary estimate of asymptotic values for absorptance changes due to long-term solar exposure (4000-6000 Equivalent Sun Hours) of silicone-based molecular contamination deposits of varying thickness. Recommendations and suggestions for processing changes and constraints based on the on-orbit observed results will be presented.

Environmental Controls and Life Support System (ECLSS) Design for a Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stambaugh, Imelda; Baccus, Shelley; Buffington, Jessie; Hood, Andrew; Naids, Adam; Borrego, Melissa; Hanford, Anthony J.; Eckhardt, Brad; Allada, Rama Kumar; Yagoda, Evan

2013-01-01

Engineers at Johnson Space Center (JSC) are developing an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) design for the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV). The purpose of the MMSEV is to extend the human exploration envelope for Lunar, Near Earth Object (NEO), or Deep Space missions by using pressurized exploration vehicles. The MMSEV, formerly known as the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV), employs ground prototype hardware for various systems and tests it in manned and unmanned configurations. Eventually, the system hardware will evolve and become part of a flight vehicle capable of supporting different design reference missions. This paper will discuss the latest MMSEV ECLSS architectures developed for a variety of design reference missions, any work contributed toward the development of the ECLSS design, lessons learned from testing prototype hardware, and the plan to advance the ECLSS toward a flight design.

Environmental Controls and Life Support System (ECLSS) Design for a Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stambaugh, Imelda; Baccus, Shelley; Naids, Adam; Hanford, Anthony

2012-01-01

Engineers at Johnson Space Center (JSC) are developing an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) design for the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV). The purpose of the MMSEV is to extend the human exploration envelope for Lunar, Near Earth Object (NEO), or Deep Space missions by using pressurized exploration vehicles. The MMSEV, formerly known as the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV), employs ground prototype hardware for various systems and tests it in manned and unmanned configurations. Eventually, the system hardware will evolve and become part of a flight vehicle capable of supporting different design reference missions. This paper will discuss the latest MMSEV ECLSS architectures developed for a variety of design reference missions, any work contributed toward the development of the ECLSS design, lessons learned from testing prototype hardware, and the plan to advance the ECLSS toward a flight design.

Advanced Video Data-Acquisition System For Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Geoffrey; Richwine, David M.; Hass, Neal E.

1996-01-01

Advanced video data-acquisition system (AVDAS) developed to satisfy variety of requirements for in-flight video documentation. Requirements range from providing images for visualization of airflows around fighter airplanes at high angles of attack to obtaining safety-of-flight documentation. F/A-18 AVDAS takes advantage of very capable systems like NITE Hawk forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pod and recent video developments like miniature charge-couple-device (CCD) color video cameras and other flight-qualified video hardware.

Digital avionics: A cornerstone of aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spitzer, Cary R.

1990-01-01

Digital avionics is continually expanding its role in communication (HF and VHF, satellite, data links), navigation (ground-based systems, inertial and satellite-based systems), and flight-by-wire control. Examples of electronic flight control system architecture, pitch, roll, and yaw control are presented. Modeling of complex hardware systems, electromagnetic interference, and software are discussed.

MSFC Skylab corollary experiment systems mission evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

Evaluations are presented of the performances of corollary experiment hardware developed by the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and operated during the three manned Skylab missions. Also presented are assessments of the functional adequacy of the experiment hardware and its supporting systems, and indications are given as to the degrees by which experiment constraints and interfaces were met. It is shown that most of the corollary experiment hardware performed satisfactorily and within design specifications.

Precision Cleaning and Verification Processes Used at Marshall Space Flight Center for Critical Hardware Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, Salvadore V.; Cox, Jack A.; McGee, Kathleen A.

1999-01-01

This presentation discuss the Marshall Space Flight Center Operations and Responsibilities. These are propulsion, microgravity experiments, international space station, space transportation systems, and advance vehicle research.

International Space Station Sustaining Engineering: A Ground-Based Test Bed for Evaluating Integrated Environmental Control and Life Support System and Internal Thermal Control System Flight Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Charles D.; Perry, Jay L.; Callahan, David M.

2000-01-01

As the International Space Station's (ISS) various habitable modules are placed in service on orbit, the need to provide for sustaining engineering becomes increasingly important to ensure the proper function of critical onboard systems. Chief among these are the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS). Without either, life onboard the ISS would prove difficult or nearly impossible. For this reason, a ground-based ECLSS/ITCS hardware performance simulation capability has been developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The ECLSS/ITCS Sustaining Engineering Test Bed will be used to assist the ISS Program in resolving hardware anomalies and performing periodic performance assessments. The ISS flight configuration being simulated by the test bed is described as well as ongoing activities related to its preparation for supporting ISS Mission 5A. Growth options for the test facility are presented whereby the current facility may be upgraded to enhance its capability for supporting future station operation well beyond Mission 5A. Test bed capabilities for demonstrating technology improvements of ECLSS hardware are also described.

NASA’s Super Guppy Transports SLS Flight Hardware to Kennedy Space Center

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft prepares to depart the U.S. Army’s Redstone Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, April 3, with flight hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System – the agency’s new, deep-space rocket that will enable astronauts to begin their journey to explore destinations far into the solar system. The Guppy will deliver the Orion stage adapter to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for flight preparations. On Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of the SLS and the Orion spacecraft, the adapter will connect Orion to the rocket and carry 13 CubeSats as secondary payloads. SLS will send Orion beyond the Moon, about 280,000 miles from Earth. This is farther from Earth than any spacecraft built for humans has ever traveled. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls.

Space Launch System Spacecraft and Payload Elements: Progress Toward Crewed Launch and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schorr, Andrew A.; Creech, Stephen D.

2017-01-01

While significant and substantial progress continues to be accomplished toward readying the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for its first test flight, work is already also underway on preparations for the second flight - using an upgraded version of the vehicle - and beyond. Designed to support human missions into deep space, Space Launch System (SLS), is the most powerful human-rated launch vehicle the United States has ever undertaken, and is one of three programs being managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Exploration Systems Development division. The Orion spacecraft program is developing a new crew vehicle that will support human missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), and the Ground Systems Development and Operations program is transforming Kennedy Space Center into a next-generation spaceport capable of supporting not only SLS but also multiple commercial users. Together, these systems will support human exploration missions into the proving ground of cislunar space and ultimately to Mars. For its first flight, SLS will deliver a near-term heavy-lift capability for the nation with its 70-metric-ton (t) Block 1 configuration. Each element of the vehicle now has flight hardware in production in support of the initial flight of the SLS, which will propel Orion around the moon and back. Encompassing hardware qualification, structural testing to validate hardware compliance and analytical modeling, progress in on track to meet the initial targeted launch date. In Utah and Mississippi, booster and engine testing are verifying upgrades made to proven shuttle hardware. At Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, the world's largest spacecraft welding tool is producing tanks for the SLS core stage. Providing the Orion crew capsule/launch vehicle interface and in-space propulsion via a cryogenic upper stage, the Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution (SPIE) element serves a key role in achieving SLS goals and objectives. The SPIE element marked a major milestone in 2014 with the first flight of original SLS hardware, the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) which was used on Exploration Flight Test-1 with a design that will be used again on the first flight of SLS. The element has overseen production of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), an in-space stage derived from the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, which was manufactured at United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama, prior to being shipped to Florida for flight preparations. Manufacture of the Orion Stage Adapter and the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) took place at the Friction Stir Facility located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Marshall is also home to the Integrated Structural Test of the ICPS, LVSA, and OSA, subjecting the stacked components to simulated stresses of launch. The SPIE Element is also overseeing integration of 13 "CubeSat" secondary payloads that will fly on the first flight of SLS, providing access to deep space regions in a way currently not available to the science community. At the same time as this preparation work is taking place toward the first launch of SLS, however, the Space Launch System Program is actively working toward its second launch. For its second flight, SLS will be upgraded to the more-capable Block 1B configuration. While the Block 1 configuration is capable of delivering more than 70 metric tons to low Earth orbit, the Block 1B vehicle will increase that capability to 105 t. For that flight, the new configuration introduces two major new elements to the vehicle - an Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) that will be used for both ascent and in-space propulsion, and a Universal Stage Adapter (USA) that serves as a "payload bay" for the rocket, allowing the launch of large exploration systems along with the Orion spacecraft. Already, flight hardware is being prepared for the Block 1B vehicle. Welding is taking place on the second rocket's core stage. Flight hardware production has begun on booster components. An RS-25 engine slated for that flight has been tested. Development work is taking place on the Exploration Upper Stage, with contracts in place for both the stage and the RL10 engines which will power it. (The EUS will use four RL10 engines, an increase from one on the ICPS.) For the crew configuration of the Block 1B vehicle, the SLS SPIE element is managing the USA and accompanying Payload Adapter, which will accommodate both large payloads co-manifested with Orion and small-satellite secondary payloads. This co-manifested payload capacity will be instrumental for missions into the Proving Ground around the moon, where NASA will test new systems and demonstrate new capabilities needed for human exploration farther into deep space.

Microgravity Flight - Accommodating Non-Human Primates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalton, Bonnie P.; Searby, Nancy; Ostrach, Louis

1994-01-01

Spacelab Life Sciences-3 (SLS-3) was scheduled to be the first United States man-tended microgravity flight containing Rhesus monkeys. The goal of this flight as in the five untended Russian COSMOS Bion flights and an earlier American Biosatellite flight, was to understand the biomedical and biological effects of a microgravity environment using the non-human primate as human surrogate. The SLS-3/Rhesus Project and COSMOS Primate-BIOS flights all utilized the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. The ultimate objective of all flights with an animal surrogate has been to evaluate and understand biological mechanisms at both the system and cellular level, thus enabling rational effective countermeasures for future long duration human activity under microgravity conditions and enabling technical application to correction of common human physiological problems within earth's gravity, e.g., muscle strength and reloading, osteoporosis, immune deficiency diseases. Hardware developed for the SLS-3/Rhesus Project was the result of a joint effort with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) extending over the last decade. The flight hardware design and development required implementation of sufficient automation to insure flight crew and animal bio-isolation and maintenance with minimal impact to crew activities. A variety of hardware of varying functional capabilities was developed to support the scientific objectives of the original 22 combined French and American experiments, along with 5 Russian co-investigations, including musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral studies. Unique elements of the Rhesus Research Facility (RRF) included separation of waste for daily delivery of urine and fecal samples for metabolic studies and a psychomotor test system for behavioral studies along with monitored food measurement. As in untended flights, telemetry measurements would allow monitoring of thermoregulation, muscular, and cardiac responses to weightlessness. In contrast, the five completed Cosmos/Bion flights, lacked the metabolic samples and behavioral task monitoring, but did facilitate studies of the neurovestibular system during several of the flights.

14 CFR 141.41 - Flight simulators, flight training devices, and training aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... freedom of motion system; (4) Use a visual system that provides at least a 45-degree horizontal field of view and a 30-degree vertical field of view simultaneously for each pilot; and (5) Have been evaluated... aircraft, or set of aircraft, in an open flight deck area or in an enclosed cockpit, including the hardware...

GRC-2010-C-05148

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-11-08

Communications, Navigation, and Network Reconfigurable Test-bed (CoNNeCT) Flight Hardware Compatibility Test Sets - Glenn Research Center and Networks Integration Management Office (NIMO) Testing for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) - Goddard Space Flight Center Testing

GRC-2010-C-05136

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-11-16

Communications, Navigation, and Network Reconfigurable Test-bed (CoNNeCT) Flight Hardware Compatibility Test Sets - Glenn Research Center and Networks Integration Management Office (NIMO) Testing for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) - Goddard Space Flight Center Testing

A Unique Software System For Simulation-to-Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Victoria I.; Hutchinson, Brian K.

2001-01-01

"Simulation-to-Flight" is a research development concept to reduce costs and increase testing efficiency of future major aeronautical research efforts at NASA. The simulation-to-flight concept is achieved by using common software and hardware, procedures, and processes for both piloted-simulation and flight testing. This concept was applied to the design and development of two full-size transport simulators, a research system installed on a NASA B-757 airplane, and two supporting laboratories. This paper describes the software system that supports the simulation-to-flight facilities. Examples of various simulation-to-flight experimental applications were also provided.

Space Launch System Spacecraft and Payload Elements: Progress Toward Crewed Launch and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schorr, Andrew A.; Smith, David Alan; Holcomb, Shawn; Hitt, David

2017-01-01

While significant and substantial progress continues to be accomplished toward readying the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for its first test flight, work is already underway on preparations for the second flight - using an upgraded version of the vehicle - and beyond. Designed to support human missions into deep space, SLS is the most powerful human-rated launch vehicle the United States has ever undertaken, and is one of three programs being managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Exploration Systems Development division. The Orion spacecraft program is developing a new crew vehicle that will support human missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), and the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) program is transforming Kennedy Space Center (KSC) into a next-generation spaceport capable of supporting not only SLS but also multiple commercial users. Together, these systems will support human exploration missions into the proving ground of cislunar space and ultimately to Mars. For its first flight, SLS will deliver a near-term heavy-lift capability for the nation with its 70-metric-ton (t) Block 1 configuration. Each element of the vehicle now has flight hardware in production in support of the initial flight of the SLS, which will propel Orion around the moon and back. Encompassing hardware qualification, structural testing to validate hardware compliance and analytical modeling, progress is on track to meet the initial targeted launch date. In Utah and Mississippi, booster and engine testing are verifying upgrades made to proven shuttle hardware. At Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in Louisiana, the world's largest spacecraft welding tool is producing tanks for the SLS core stage. Providing the Orion crew capsule/launch vehicle interface and in-space propulsion via a cryogenic upper stage, the Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution (SPIE) element serves a key role in achieving SLS goals and objectives. The SPIE element marked a major milestone in 2014 with the first flight of original SLS hardware, the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) which was used on Exploration Flight Test-1 with a design that will be used again on the first flight of SLS. The element has overseen production of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), an in-space stage derived from the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, which was manufactured at United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Decatur, Alabama, prior to being shipped to Florida for flight preparations. Manufacture of the OSA and the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) took place at the Friction Stir Facility located at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Marshall is also home to the Integrated Structural Test of the ICPS, LVSA, and OSA, subjecting the stacked components to simulated stresses of launch. The SPIE Element is also overseeing integration of 13 "CubeSat" secondary payloads that will fly on the first flight of SLS, providing access to deep space regions in a way currently not available to the science community. At the same time as this preparation work is taking place toward the first launch of SLS, however, the Space Launch System Program is actively working toward its second launch. For its second flight, SLS will be upgraded to the more-capable Block 1B configuration. While the Block 1 configuration is capable of delivering more than 70 t to LEO, the Block 1B vehicle will increase that capability to 105 t. For that flight, the new configuration introduces two major new elements to the vehicle - an Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) that will be used for both ascent and in-space propulsion, and a Universal Stage Adapter (USA) that serves as a "payload bay" for the rocket, allowing the launch of large exploration systems along with the Orion spacecraft. Already, flight hardware is being prepared for the Block 1B vehicle. Welding is taking place on the second rocket's core stage. Flight hardware production has begun on booster components. An RS-25 engine slated for that flight has been tested. Development work is taking place on the EUS, with contracts in place for both the stage and the RL10 engines which will power it. (The EUS will use four RL10 engines, an increase from one on the ICPS.) For the crew configuration of the Block 1B vehicle, the SLS SPIE element is managing the USA and accompanying Payload Adapter, which will accommodate both large payloads co-manifested with Orion and small-satellite secondary payloads. This co-manifested payload capacity will be instrumental for missions into the proving ground around the moon, where NASA will test new systems and demonstrate new capabilities needed for human exploration farther into deep space.

Intersatellite communications optoelectronics research at the Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, Michael A.

1992-01-01

A review is presented of current optoelectronics research and development at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for high-power, high-bandwidth laser transmitters; high-bandwidth, high-sensitivity optical receivers; pointing, acquisition, and tracking components; and experimental and theoretical system modeling at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Program hardware and space flight opportunities are presented.

Human Research Program Advanced Exercise Concepts (AEC) Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perusek, Gail; Lewandowski, Beth; Nall, Marsha; Norsk, Peter; Linnehan, Rick; Baumann, David

2015-01-01

Exercise countermeasures provide benefits that are crucial for successful human spaceflight, to mitigate the spaceflight physiological deconditioning which occurs during exposure to microgravity. The NASA Human Research Program (HRP) within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) is managing next generation Advanced Exercise Concepts (AEC) requirements development and candidate technology maturation to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 (ground prototyping and flight demonstration) for all exploration mission profiles from Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Exploration Missions (up to 21 day duration) to Mars Transit (up to 1000 day duration) missions. These validated and optimized exercise countermeasures systems will be provided to the ISS Program and MPCV Program for subsequent flight development and operations. The International Space Station (ISS) currently has three major pieces of operational exercise countermeasures hardware: the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED), the second-generation (T2) treadmill, and the cycle ergometer with vibration isolation system (CEVIS). This suite of exercise countermeasures hardware serves as a benchmark and is a vast improvement over previous generations of countermeasures hardware, providing both aerobic and resistive exercise for the crew. However, vehicle and resource constraints for future exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit will require that the exercise countermeasures hardware mass, volume, and power be minimized, while preserving the current ISS capabilities or even enhancing these exercise capabilities directed at mission specific physiological functional performance and medical standards requirements. Further, mission-specific considerations such as preservation of sensorimotor function, autonomous and adaptable operation, integration with medical data systems, rehabilitation, and in-flight monitoring and feedback are being developed for integration with the exercise countermeasures systems. Numerous technologies have been considered and evaluated against HRP-approved functional device requirements for these extreme mission profiles, and include wearable sensors, exoskeletons, flywheel, pneumatic, and closed-loop microprocessor controlled motor driven systems. Each technology has unique advantages and disadvantages. The Advanced Exercise Concepts project oversees development of candidate next generation exercise countermeasures hardware, performs trade studies of current and state of the art exercise technologies, manages and supports candidate systems physiological evaluations with human test subjects on the ground, in flight analogs and flight. The near term goal is evaluation of candidate systems in flight, culminating in an integrated candidate next generation exercise countermeasures suite on the ISS which coalesces research findings from HRP disciplines in the areas of exercise performance for muscle, bone, cardiovascular, sensorimotor, behavioral health, and nutrition for optimal benefit to the crew.

PDSS/IMC requirements and functional specifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The system (software and hardware) requirements for the Payload Development Support System (PDSS)/Image Motion Compensator (IMC) are provided. The PDSS/IMC system provides the capability for performing Image Motion Compensator Electronics (IMCE) flight software test, checkout, and verification and provides the capability for monitoring the IMC flight computer system during qualification testing for fault detection and fault isolation.

14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety crew roles and qualifications. 417.311 Section 417.311 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance...

14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight safety crew roles and qualifications. 417.311 Section 417.311 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance...

Space Launch System Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Hardware Completes Manufacturing

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-28

The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter for the first flight of the Space Launch System, NASA’s new deeps space rocket, recently completed manufacturing at NASA’s Marshal Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The LVSA, the largest piece of the rocket welded together in Marshall’s Huntsville manufacturing area, will connect two major sections of SLS – the 27.6-foot diameter core stage and the 16.4-foot interim cryogenic propulsion stage – for the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, the prime contractor for the adapter, has completed manufacturing, and engineers are preparing to apply thermal insulation. It will be the largest piece of hardware that Marshall. The LVSA was moved from the NASA welding area to NASA’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing where the thermal protection system will be applied.

Loran-C flight test software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickum, J. D.

1978-01-01

The software package developed for the KIM-1 Micro-System and the Mini-L PLL receiver to simplify taking flight test data is described along with the address and data bus buffers used in the KIM-1 Micro-system. The interface hardware and timing are also presented to describe completely the software programs.

Flight Experiment Demonstration System (FEDS) analysis report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shank, D. E.

1986-01-01

The purpose of the Flight Experiment Demonstration System (FEDS) was to show, in a simulated spacecraft environment, the feasibility of using a microprocessor to automate the onboard orbit determination functions. The software and hardware configuration used to support FEDS during the demonstration and the results of the demonstration are discussed.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homola, Jeffrey; Owens, Brandon

2017-01-01

This is a presentation for a Cisco Internet of Things (IoT) Systems Engineering Virtual Training (SEVT) event. The presentation provides an overview of the UTM concept, architecture, flight test events, and lessons learned. Networking hardware used in support of flight tests is also described.

Guidelines for mission integration, a summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Guidelines are presented for instrument/experiment developers concerning hardware design, flight verification, and operations and mission implementation requirements. Interface requirements between the STS and instruments/experiments are defined. Interface constraints and design guidelines are presented along with integrated payload requirements for Spacelab Missions 1, 2, and 3. Interim data are suggested for use during hardware development until more detailed information is developed when a complete mission and an integrated payload system are defined. Safety requirements, flight verification requirements, and operations procedures are defined.

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System Diagram

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This diagram shows the flow of recyclable resources in the International Space Station (ISS). The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Group of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for the regenerative ECLSS hardware, as well as providing technical support for the rest of the system. The regenerative ECLSS, whose main components are the Water Recovery System (WRS), and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), reclaims and recycles water and oxygen. The ECLSS maintains a pressurized habitation environment, provides water recovery and storage, maintains and provides fire detection / suppression, and provides breathable air and a comfortable atmosphere in which to live and work within the ISS. The ECLSS hardware will be located in the Node 3 module of the ISS.

Capabilities of the Environmental Effects Branch at Marshall Space Flight Cente

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Jan; Finckenor, Miria; Nehls, Mary

2016-01-01

The Environmental Effects Branch at the Marshall Space Flight Center supports a myriad array of programs for NASA, DoD, and commercial space including human exploration, advanced space propulsion, improving life on Earth, and the study of the Sun, the Earth, and the solar system. The branch provides testing, evaluation, and qualification of materials for use on external spacecraft surfaces and in contamination-sensitive systems. Space environment capabilities include charged particle radiation, ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, impact, plasma, and thermal vacuum, anchored by flight experiments and analysis of returned space hardware. These environmental components can be combined for solar wind or planetary surface environment studies or to evaluate synergistic effects. The Impact Testing Facility allows simulation of impacts ranging from sand and rain to micrometeoroids and orbital debris in order to evaluate materials and components for flight and ground-based systems. The Contamination Control Team is involved in the evaluation of environmentally-friendly replacements for HCFC-225 for use in propulsion oxygen systems, developing cleaning methods for additively manufactured hardware, and reducing risk for the Space Launch System.

Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) System Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Bradish, Martin A.; Juergens, Jeffrey R.; Lewis, Michael J.; Vrnak, Daniel R.

2011-01-01

This document captures the system architecture for a Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) capability needed for electronics maintenance and repair of the Constellation Program (CxP). CLEAR is intended to improve flight system supportability and reduce the mass of spares required to maintain the electronics of human rated spacecraft on long duration missions. By necessity it allows the crew to make repairs that would otherwise be performed by Earth based repair depots. Because of practical knowledge and skill limitations of small spaceflight crews they must be augmented by Earth based support crews and automated repair equipment. This system architecture covers the complete system from ground-user to flight hardware and flight crew and defines an Earth segment and a Space segment. The Earth Segment involves database management, operational planning, and remote equipment programming and validation processes. The Space Segment involves the automated diagnostic, test and repair equipment required for a complete repair process. This document defines three major subsystems including, tele-operations that links the flight hardware to ground support, highly reconfigurable diagnostics and test instruments, and a CLEAR Repair Apparatus that automates the physical repair process.

NASA's Space Launch System Takes Shape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Askins, Bruce R.; Robinson, Kimberly F.

2017-01-01

Significant hardware and software for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) began rolling off assembly lines in 2016, setting the stage for critical testing in 2017 and the launch of new capability for deep-space human exploration. (Figure 1) At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) near New Orleans, LA, full-scale test articles are being joined by flight hardware. Structural test stands are nearing completion at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL. An SLS booster solid rocket motor underwent test firing, while flight motor segments were cast. An RS-25 and Engine Control Unit (ECU) for early SLS flights were tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC). The upper stage for the first flight was completed, and NASA completed Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for a new, powerful upper stage. The pace of production and testing is expected to increase in 2017. This paper will discuss the technical and programmatic highlights and challenges of 2016 and look ahead to plans for 2017.

Parameter Validation for Evaluation of Spaceflight Hardware Reusability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Childress-Thompson, Rhonda; Dale, Thomas L.; Farrington, Phillip

2017-01-01

Within recent years, there has been an influx of companies around the world pursuing reusable systems for space flight. Much like NASA, many of these new entrants are learning that reusable systems are complex and difficult to acheive. For instance, in its first attempts to retrieve spaceflight hardware for future reuse, SpaceX unsuccessfully tried to land on a barge at sea, resulting in a crash-landing. As this new generation of launch developers continues to develop concepts for reusable systems, having a systematic approach for determining the most effective systems for reuse is paramount. Three factors that influence the effective implementation of reusability are cost, operability and reliability. Therefore, a method that integrates these factors into the decision-making process must be utilized to adequately determine whether hardware used in space flight should be reused or discarded. Previous research has identified seven features that contribute to the successful implementation of reusability for space flight applications, defined reusability for space flight applications, highlighted the importance of reusability, and presented areas that hinder successful implementation of reusability. The next step is to ensure that the list of reusability parameters previously identified is comprehensive, and any duplication is either removed or consolidated. The characteristics to judge the seven features as good indicators for successful reuse are identified and then assessed using multiattribute decision making. Next, discriminators in the form of metrics or descriptors are assigned to each parameter. This paper explains the approach used to evaluate these parameters, define the Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) for reusability, and quantify these parameters. Using the MOEs, each parameter is assessed for its contribution to the reusability of the hardware. Potential data sources needed to validate the approach will be identified.

NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites: Tools for Software Based Validation and Verification of Small Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grubb, Matt

2016-01-01

The NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites (NOS3) is a suite of tools to aid in areas such as software development, integration test (IT), mission operations training, verification and validation (VV), and software systems check-out. NOS3 provides a software development environment, a multi-target build system, an operator interface-ground station, dynamics and environment simulations, and software-based hardware models. NOS3 enables the development of flight software (FSW) early in the project life cycle, when access to hardware is typically not available. For small satellites there are extensive lead times on many of the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components as well as limited funding for engineering test units (ETU). Considering the difficulty of providing a hardware test-bed to each developer tester, hardware models are modeled based upon characteristic data or manufacturers data sheets for each individual component. The fidelity of each hardware models is such that FSW executes unaware that physical hardware is not present. This allows binaries to be compiled for both the simulation environment, and the flight computer, without changing the FSW source code. For hardware models that provide data dependent on the environment, such as a GPS receiver or magnetometer, an open-source tool from NASA GSFC (42 Spacecraft Simulation) is used to provide the necessary data. The underlying infrastructure used to transfer messages between FSW and the hardware models can also be used to monitor, intercept, and inject messages, which has proven to be beneficial for VV of larger missions such as James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As hardware is procured, drivers can be added to the environment to enable hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing. When strict time synchronization is not vital, any number of combinations of hardware components and software-based models can be tested. The open-source operator interface used in NOS3 is COSMOS from Ball Aerospace. For testing, plug-ins are implemented in COSMOS to control the NOS3 simulations, while the command and telemetry tools available in COSMOS are used to communicate with FSW. NOS3 is actively being used for FSW development and component testing of the Simulation-to-Flight 1 (STF-1) CubeSat. As NOS3 matures, hardware models have been added for common CubeSat components such as Novatel GPS receivers, ClydeSpace electrical power systems and batteries, ISISpace antenna systems, etc. In the future, NASA IVV plans to distribute NOS3 to other CubeSat developers and release the suite to the open-source community.

LDEF systems special investigation group overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, Jim; Dursch, Harry

1995-01-01

The Systems Special Investigation Group (Systems SIG), formed by the LDEF Project Office to perform post-flight analysis of LDEF systems hardware, was chartered to investigate the effects of the extended LDEF mission on both satellite and experiment systems and to coordinate and integrate all systems related analyses performed during post-flight investigations. The Systems SIG published a summary report in April, 1992 titled 'Analysis of Systems Hardware Flown on LDEF - Results of the Systems Special Investigation Group' that described findings through the end of 1991. The Systems SIG, unfunded in FY 92 and FY93, has been funded in FY 94 to update this report with all new systems related findings. This paper provides a brief summary of the highlights of earlier Systems SIG accomplishments and describes tasks the Systems SIG has been funded to accomplish in FY 94.

Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

2005-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety (STARS) study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety [global positioning system (GPS) metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay] and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California, USA) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit (RSU) provided real-time video for three days during the historic Global Flyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California, USA) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This paper discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

2005-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety (global positioning system metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay) and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit provided real-time video for three days during the historic GlobalFlyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This report discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

Functional Design of an Automated Instructional Support System for Operational Flight Trainers. Final Report, June 1976 through September 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Semple, Clarence A.; And Others

Functional requirements for a highly automated, flexible, instructional support system for aircrew training simulators are presented. Automated support modes and associated features and capabilities are described, along with hardware and software functional requirements for implementing a baseline system in an operational flight training context.…

Assurance of COTS Boards for Space Flight. Part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plante, Jeannette; Helmold, Norm; Eveland, Clay

1998-01-01

Space Flight hardware and software designers are increasingly turning to Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) products in hopes of meeting the demands imposed on them by projects with short development cycle times. The Technology Validation Assurance (TVA) team at NASA GSFC has embarked on applying a method for inserting COTS hardware into the Spartan 251 spacecraft. This method includes Procurement, Characterization, Ruggedization/Remediation and Verification Testing process steps which are intended to increase the uses confidence in the hardware's ability to function in the intended application for the required duration. As this method is refined with use, it has the potential for becoming a benchmark for industry-wide use of COTS in high reliability systems.

Demonstration of the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology using the Titan 2 Space Launch Vehicle Digital Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yau, M.; Guarro, S.; Apostolakis, G.

1993-01-01

Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) is a new approach developed to integrate the modeling and analysis of the hardware and software components of an embedded system. The objective is to complement the traditional approaches which generally follow the philosophy of separating out the hardware and software portions of the assurance analysis. In this paper, the DFM approach is demonstrated using the Titan 2 Space Launch Vehicle Digital Flight Control System. The hardware and software portions of this embedded system are modeled in an integrated framework. In addition, the time dependent behavior and the switching logic can be captured by this DFM model. In the modeling process, it is found that constructing decision tables for software subroutines is very time consuming. A possible solution is suggested. This approach makes use of a well-known numerical method, the Newton-Raphson method, to solve the equations implemented in the subroutines in reverse. Convergence can be achieved in a few steps.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-01-01

This diagram shows the flow of recyclable resources in the International Space Station (ISS). The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Group of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for the regenerative ECLSS hardware, as well as providing technical support for the rest of the system. The regenerative ECLSS, whose main components are the Water Recovery System (WRS), and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), reclaims and recycles water and oxygen. The ECLSS maintains a pressurized habitation environment, provides water recovery and storage, maintains and provides fire detection / suppression, and provides breathable air and a comfortable atmosphere in which to live and work within the ISS. The ECLSS hardware will be located in the Node 3 module of the ISS.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-01-01

This diagram shows the flow of water recovery and management in the International Space Station (ISS). The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Group of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for the regenerative ECLSS hardware, as well as providing technical support for the rest of the system. The regenerative ECLSS, whose main components are the Water Recovery System (WRS), and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), reclaims and recycles water oxygen. The ECLSS maintains a pressurized habitation environment, provides water recovery and storage, maintains and provides fire detection/ suppression, and provides breathable air and a comfortable atmosphere in which to live and work within the ISS. The ECLSS hardware will be located in the Node 3 module of the ISS.

Development of Enhanced Avionics Flight Hardware Selection Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, K.; Watson, G. L.

2003-01-01

The primary objective of this research was to determine the processes and feasibility of using commercial off-the-shelf PC104 hardware for flight applications. This would lead to a faster, better, and cheaper approach to low-budget programs as opposed to the design, procurement. and fabrication of space flight hardware. This effort will provide experimental evaluation with results of flight environmental testing. Also, a method and/or suggestion used to bring test hardware up to flight standards will be given. Several microgravity programs, such as the Equiaxed Dendritic Solidification Experiment, Self-Diffusion in Liquid Elements, and various other programs, are interested in PC104 environmental testing to establish the limits of this technology.

Flight demonstration of flight termination system and solid rocket motor ignition using semiconductor laser initiated ordnance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulze, Norman R.; Maxfield, B.; Boucher, C.

1995-01-01

Solid State Laser Initiated Ordnance (LIO) offers new technology having potential for enhanced safety, reduced costs, and improved operational efficiency. Concerns over the absence of programmatic applications of the technology, which has prevented acceptance by flight programs, should be abated since LIO has now been operationally implemented by the Laser Initiated Ordnance Sounding Rocket Demonstration (LOSRD) Program. The first launch of solid state laser diode LIO at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) occurred on March 15, 1995 with all mission objectives accomplished. This project, Phase 3 of a series of three NASA Headquarters LIO demonstration initiatives, accomplished its objective by the flight of a dedicated, all-LIO sounding rocket mission using a two-stage Nike-Orion launch vehicle. LIO flight hardware, made by The Ensign-Bickford Company under NASA's first Cooperative Agreement with Profit Making Organizations, safely initiated three demanding pyrotechnic sequence events, namely, solid rocket motor ignition from the ground and in flight, and flight termination, i.e., as a Flight Termination System (FTS). A flight LIO system was designed, built, tested, and flown to support the objectives of quickly and inexpensively putting LIO through ground and flight operational paces. The hardware was fully qualified for this mission, including component testing as well as a full-scale system test. The launch accomplished all mission objectives in less than 11 months from proposal receipt. This paper concentrates on accomplishments of the ordnance aspects of the program and on the program's implementation and results. While this program does not generically qualify LIO for all applications, it demonstrated the safety, technical, and operational feasibility of those two most demanding applications, using an all solid state safe and arm system in critical flight applications.

Weight and the Future of Space Flight Hardware Cost Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prince, Frank A.

2003-01-01

Weight has been used as the primary input variable for cost estimating almost as long as there have been parametric cost models. While there are good reasons for using weight, serious limitations exist. These limitations have been addressed by multi-variable equations and trend analysis in models such as NAFCOM, PRICE, and SEER; however, these models have not be able to address the significant time lags that can occur between the development of similar space flight hardware systems. These time lags make the cost analyst's job difficult because insufficient data exists to perform trend analysis, and the current set of parametric models are not well suited to accommodating process improvements in space flight hardware design, development, build and test. As a result, people of good faith can have serious disagreement over the cost for new systems. To address these shortcomings, new cost modeling approaches are needed. The most promising approach is process based (sometimes called activity) costing. Developing process based models will require a detailed understanding of the functions required to produce space flight hardware combined with innovative approaches to estimating the necessary resources. Particularly challenging will be the lack of data at the process level. One method for developing a model is to combine notional algorithms with a discrete event simulation and model changes to the total cost as perturbations to the program are introduced. Despite these challenges, the potential benefits are such that efforts should be focused on developing process based cost models.

A Reusable and Adaptable Software Architecture for Embedded Space Flight System: The Core Flight Software System (CFS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilmot, Jonathan

2005-01-01

The contents include the following: High availability. Hardware is in harsh environment. Flight processor (constraints) very widely due to power and weight constraints. Software must be remotely modifiable and still operate while changes are being made. Many custom one of kind interfaces for one of a kind missions. Sustaining engineering. Price of failure is high, tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The flight robotics laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tobbe, Patrick A.; Williamson, Marlin J.; Glaese, John R.

1988-01-01

The Flight Robotics Laboratory of the Marshall Space Flight Center is described in detail. This facility, containing an eight degree of freedom manipulator, precision air bearing floor, teleoperated motion base, reconfigurable operator's console, and VAX 11/750 computer system, provides simulation capability to study human/system interactions of remote systems. The facility hardware, software and subsequent integration of these components into a real time man-in-the-loop simulation for the evaluation of spacecraft contact proximity and dynamics are described.

Williams with TVIS hardware in Zvezda Service module

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-02-26

ISS014-E-15136 (26 Feb. 2007) --- Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, performs maintenance work on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) during routine in-flight maintenance (IFM) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Ares I-X Flight Test - On the Fast Track to the Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephan R.; Robinson, Kimberly F.

2008-01-01

In less than two years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch the Ares I-X mission. This will be the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, which, together with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, will send humans to the Moon and beyond. Personnel from the Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) are finalizing designs and fabricating vehicle hardware for an April 2009 launch. Ares I-X will be a suborbital development flight test that will gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack; understand how to control its roll during flight; better characterize the severe stage separation environments that the upper stage engine will experience during future flights; and demonstrate the first stage recovery system. NASA also will modify the launch infrastructure and ground and mission operations. The Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle (FTV) will incorporate flight and mockup hardware similar in mass and weight to the operational vehicle. It will be powered by a four-segment Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which is currently in Shuttle inventory, and will include a fifth spacer segment and new forward structures to make the booster approximately the same size and weight as the five-segment SRB. The Ares I-X flight profile will closely approximate the flight conditions that the Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, up to approximately130,OOO feet and through maximum dynamic pressure ("Max Q") of approximately 800 pounds per square foot. Data from the Ares I-X flight will support the Ares I Critical Design Review (CDR), scheduled for 2010. Work continues on Ares I-X design and hardware fabrication. All of the individual elements are undergoing CDRs, followed by an integrated vehicle CDR in March 2008. The various hardware elements are on schedule to begin deliveries to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in early September 2008.

Recognizing and optimizing flight opportunities with hardware and life sciences limitations.

PubMed

Luttges, M W

1992-01-01

The availability of orbital space flight opportunities to conduct life sciences research has been limited. It is possible to use parabolic flight and sounding rocket programs to conduct some kinds of experiments during short episodes (seconds to minutes) of reduced gravity, but there are constraints and limitations to these programs. Orbital flight opportunities are major undertakings, and the potential science achievable is often a function of the flight hardware available. A variety of generic types of flight hardware have been developed and tested, and show great promise for use during NSTS flights. One such payload configuration is described which has already flown.

Deployer Performance Results for the TSS-1 Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Leland S.; Geiger, Ronald V.

1995-01-01

Performance of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Deployer during the STS-46 mission (July and August 1992) is analyzed in terms of hardware operation at the component and system level. Although only a limited deployment of the satellite was achieved (256 meters vs 20 kilometers planned), the mission served to verify the basic capability of the Deployer to release, control and retrieve a tethered satellite. - Deployer operational flexibility that was demonstrated during the flight is also addressed. Martin Marietta was the prime contractor for the development of the Deployer, under management of the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The satellite was provided by Alenia, Torino, Italy under contract to the Agencia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). Proper operation of the avionics components and the majority of mechanisms was observed during the flight. System operations driven by control laws for the deployment and retrieval of the satellite were also successful for the limited deployment distance. Anomalies included separation problems for one of the two umbilical connectors between the Deployer and satellite, tether jamming (at initial Satellite fly-away and at a deployment distance of 224 meters), and a mechanical interference which prevented tether deployment beyond 256 meters. The Deployer was used in several off-nominal conditions to respond to these anomalies, which ultimately enabled a successful satellite retrieval and preservation of hardware integrity for a future re-flight. The paper begins with an introduction defining the significance of the TSS-1 mission. The body of the paper is divided into four major sections: (1) Description of Deployer System and Components, (2) Deployer Components/Systems Demonstrating Successful Operation, (3) Hardware Anomalies and Operational Responses, and (4) Design Modifications for the TSS-1R Re-flight Mission. Conclusions from the TSS-1 mission, including lessons learned are presented at the end of the manuscript.

Simulation and Flight Test Capability for Testing Prototype Sense and Avoid System Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Charles T.; Stock, Todd M.; Verstynen, Harry A.; Wehner, Paul J.

2012-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) have developed, and successfully demonstrated, an integrated simulation-to-flight capability for evaluating sense and avoid (SAA) system elements. This integrated capability consists of a MITRE developed fast-time computer simulation for evaluating SAA algorithms, and a NASA LaRC surrogate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) equipped to support hardware and software in-the-loop evaluation of SAA system elements (e.g., algorithms, sensors, architecture, communications, autonomous systems), concepts, and procedures. The fast-time computer simulation subjects algorithms to simulated flight encounters/ conditions and generates a fitness report that records strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. Reviewed algorithms (and their fitness report) are then transferred to NASA LaRC where additional (joint) airworthiness evaluations are performed on the candidate SAA system-element configurations, concepts, and/or procedures of interest; software and hardware components are integrated into the Surrogate UAS research systems; and flight safety and mission planning activities are completed. Onboard the Surrogate UAS, candidate SAA system element configurations, concepts, and/or procedures are subjected to flight evaluations and in-flight performance is monitored. The Surrogate UAS, which can be controlled remotely via generic Ground Station uplink or automatically via onboard systems, operates with a NASA Safety Pilot/Pilot in Command onboard to permit safe operations in mixed airspace with manned aircraft. An end-to-end demonstration of a typical application of the capability was performed in non-exclusionary airspace in October 2011; additional research, development, flight testing, and evaluation efforts using this integrated capability are planned throughout fiscal year 2012 and 2013.

New Approaches in Force-Limited Vibration Testing of Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolaini, Ali R.; Kern, Dennis L.

2012-01-01

To qualify flight hardware for random vibration environments the following methods are used to limit the loads in the aerospace industry: (1) Response limiting and notching (2) Simple TDOF model (3) Semi-empirical force limits (4) Apparent mass, etc. and (5) Impedance method. In all these methods attempts are made to remove conservatism due to the mismatch in impedances between the test and the flight configurations of the hardware that are being qualified. Assumption is the hardware interfaces have correlated responses. A new method that takes into account the un-correlated hardware interface responses are described in this presentation.

The First Development of Human Factors Engineering Requirements for Application to Ground Task Design for a NASA Flight Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dischinger, H. Charles, Jr.; Stambolian, Damon B.; Miller, Darcy H.

2008-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has long applied standards-derived human engineering requirements to the development of hardware and software for use by astronauts while in flight. The most important source of these requirements has been NASA-STD-3000. While there have been several ground systems human engineering requirements documents, none has been applicable to the flight system as handled at NASA's launch facility at Kennedy Space Center. At the time of the development of previous human launch systems, there were other considerations that were deemed more important than developing worksites for ground crews; e.g., hardware development schedule and vehicle performance. However, experience with these systems has shown that failure to design for ground tasks has resulted in launch schedule delays, ground operations that are more costly than they might be, and threats to flight safety. As the Agency begins the development of new systems to return humans to the moon, the new Constellation Program is addressing this issue with a new set of human engineering requirements. Among these requirements is a subset that will apply to the design of the flight components and that is intended to assure ground crew success in vehicle assembly and maintenance tasks. These requirements address worksite design for usability and for ground crew safety.

1301253

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-12-12

JASON ELDRIDGE, AN ERC INCORPORATED EMPLOYEE SUPPORTING THE MATERIALS & PROCESSES LABORATORY AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, SIGNS HIS NAME ON THE INTERIOR OF THE ADAPTER THAT WILL CONNECT THE ORION SPACECRAFT TO A UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE DELTA IV ROCKET FOR EXPLORATION FLIGHT TEST (EFT)-1. MARSHALL CENTER TEAM MEMBERS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING OF THE ADAPTER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO AUTOGRAPH IT BEFORE THE HARDWARE IS SHIPPED TO NASA'S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN FEBRUARY. ELDRIDGE WAS ON A TEAM THAT PERFORMED ULTRASONIC INSPECTIONS ON THE ADAPTER'S WELDS -- ENSURING THEY ARE STRUCTURALLY SOUND. EFT-1, SCHEDULED FOR 2014, WILL PROVIDE EARLY EXPERIENCE FOR NASA SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM (SLS) HARDWARE AHEAD OF THE ROCKET'S FIRST FLIGHT IN 2017.

Comparative Modal Analysis of Sieve Hardware Designs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Nathaniel

2012-01-01

The CMTB Thwacker hardware operates as a testbed analogue for the Flight Thwacker and Sieve components of CHIMRA, a device on the Curiosity Rover. The sieve separates particles with a diameter smaller than 150 microns for delivery to onboard science instruments. The sieving behavior of the testbed hardware should be similar to the Flight hardware for the results to be meaningful. The elastodynamic behavior of both sieves was studied analytically using the Rayleigh Ritz method in conjunction with classical plate theory. Finite element models were used to determine the mode shapes of both designs, and comparisons between the natural frequencies and mode shapes were made. The analysis predicts that the performance of the CMTB Thwacker will closely resemble the performance of the Flight Thwacker within the expected steady state operating regime. Excitations of the testbed hardware that will mimic the flight hardware were recommended, as were those that will improve the efficiency of the sieving process.

A systems approach to solder joint fatigue in spacecraft electronic packaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, R. G., Jr.

1991-01-01

Differential expansion induced fatigue resulting from temperature cycling is a leading cause of solder joint failures in spacecraft. Achieving high reliability flight hardware requires that each element of the fatigue issue be addressed carefully. This includes defining the complete thermal-cycle environment to be experienced by the hardware, developing electronic packaging concepts that are consistent with the defined environments, and validating the completed designs with a thorough qualification and acceptance test program. This paper describes a useful systems approach to solder fatigue based principally on the fundamental log-strain versus log-cycles-to-failure behavior of fatigue. This fundamental behavior has been useful to integrate diverse ground test and flight operational thermal-cycle environments into a unified electronics design approach. Each element of the approach reflects both the mechanism physics that control solder fatigue, as well as the practical realities of the hardware build, test, delivery, and application cycle.

Verification Challenges of Dynamic Testing of Space Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winnitoy, Susan

2010-01-01

The Six Degree-of-Freedom Dynamic Test System (SDTS) is a test facility at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for performing dynamic verification of space structures and hardware. Some examples of past and current tests include the verification of on-orbit robotic inspection systems, space vehicle assembly procedures and docking/berthing systems. The facility is able to integrate a dynamic simulation of on-orbit spacecraft mating or demating using flight-like mechanical interface hardware. A force moment sensor is utilized for input to the simulation during the contact phase, thus simulating the contact dynamics. While the verification of flight hardware presents many unique challenges, one particular area of interest is with respect to the use of external measurement systems to ensure accurate feedback of dynamic contact. There are many commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) measurement systems available on the market, and the test facility measurement systems have evolved over time to include two separate COTS systems. The first system incorporates infra-red sensing cameras, while the second system employs a laser interferometer to determine position and orientation data. The specific technical challenges with the measurement systems in a large dynamic environment include changing thermal and humidity levels, operational area and measurement volume, dynamic tracking, and data synchronization. The facility is located in an expansive high-bay area that is occasionally exposed to outside temperature when large retractable doors at each end of the building are opened. The laser interferometer system, in particular, is vulnerable to the environmental changes in the building. The operational area of the test facility itself is sizeable, ranging from seven meters wide and five meters deep to as much as seven meters high. Both facility measurement systems have desirable measurement volumes and the accuracies vary within the respective volumes. In addition, because this is a dynamic facility with a moving test bed, direct line-of-sight may not be available at all times between the measurement sensors and the tracking targets. Finally, the feedback data from the active test bed along with the two external measurement systems must be synchronized to allow for data correlation. To ensure the desired accuracy and resolution of these systems, calibration of the systems must be performed regularly. New innovations in sensor technology itself are periodically incorporated into the facility s overall measurement scheme. In addressing the challenges of the measurement systems, the facility is able to provide essential position and orientation data to verify the dynamic performance of space flight hardware.

TERSSE: Definition of the Total Earth Resources System for the Shuttle Era. Volume 2: An Assessment of the Current State-of-the-Art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

Results of a state-of-the-art assessment of technology areas which affect the Earth Resources Program are presented along with a functional description of the basic earth resources system. Major areas discussed include: spacecraft flight hardware, remote sensors, data processing techniques and hardware, user models, user interfaces, and operations technology.

Advanced wiring technique and hardware application: Airplane and space vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ernst, H. L.; Eichman, C. D.

1972-01-01

An advanced wiring system is described which achieves the safety/reliability required for present and future airplane and space vehicle applications. Also, present wiring installation techniques and hardware are analyzed to establish existing problem areas. An advanced wiring system employing matrix interconnecting unit, plug to plug trunk bundles (FCC or ribbon cable) is outlined, and an installation study presented. A planned program to develop, lab test and flight test key features of these techniques and hardware as a part of the SST technology follow-on activities is discussed.

Man-rated flight software for the F-8 DFBW program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bairnsfather, R. R.

1975-01-01

The design, implementation, and verification of the flight control software used in the F-8 DFBW program are discussed. Since the DFBW utilizes an Apollo computer and hardware, the procedures, controls, and basic management techniques employed are based on those developed for the Apollo software system. Program Assembly Control, simulator configuration control, erasable-memory load generation, change procedures and anomaly reporting are discussed. The primary verification tools--the all-digital simulator, the hybrid simulator, and the Iron Bird simulator--are described, as well as the program test plans and their implementation on the various simulators. Failure-effects analysis and the creation of special failure-generating software for testing purposes are described. The quality of the end product is evidenced by the F-8 DFBW flight test program in which 42 flights, totaling 58 hours of flight time, were successfully made without any DFCS inflight software, or hardware, failures.

Medical evaluations on the KC-135 1990 flight report summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lloyd, Charles W.; Guess, Terrell M.; Whiting, Charles W.; Doarn, Charles R.

1991-01-01

The medical investigations completed on the KC-135 during FY 1990 in support of the development of the Health Maintenance Facility and Medical Operations are discussed. The experiments are comprised of engineering evaluations of medical hardware and medical procedures. The investigating teams are made up of both medical and engineering personnel responsible for the development of medical hardware and medical operations. The hardware evaluated includes dental equipment, a coagulation analyzer, selected pharmaceutical aerosol devices, a prototype air/fluid separator, a prototype packaging and stowage system for medical supplies, a microliter metering system, and a workstation for minor surgical procedures. The results of these engineering evaluations will be used in the design of fleet hardware as well as to identify hardware specific training requirements.

Advances in flexible optrode hardware for use in cybernetic insects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Register, Joseph; Callahan, Dennis M.; Segura, Carlos; LeBlanc, John; Lissandrello, Charles; Kumar, Parshant; Salthouse, Christopher; Wheeler, Jesse

2017-08-01

Optogenetic manipulation is widely used to selectively excite and silence neurons in laboratory experiments. Recent efforts to miniaturize the components of optogenetic systems have enabled experiments on freely moving animals, but further miniaturization is required for freely flying insects. In particular, miniaturization of high channel-count optical waveguides are needed for high-resolution interfaces. Thin flexible waveguide arrays are needed to bend light around tight turns to access small anatomical targets. We present the design of lightweight miniaturized optogentic hardware and supporting electronics for the untethered steering of dragonfly flight. The system is designed to enable autonomous flight and includes processing, guidance sensors, solar power, and light stimulators. The system will weigh less than 200mg and be worn by the dragonfly as a backpack. The flexible implant has been designed to provide stimuli around nerves through micron scale apertures of adjacent neural tissue without the use of heavy hardware. We address the challenges of lightweight optogenetics and the development of high contrast polymer waveguides for this purpose.

Diagram of the Water Recovery and Management for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This diagram shows the flow of water recovery and management in the International Space Station (ISS). The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Group of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for the regenerative ECLSS hardware, as well as providing technical support for the rest of the system. The regenerative ECLSS, whose main components are the Water Recovery System (WRS), and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), reclaims and recycles water oxygen. The ECLSS maintains a pressurized habitation environment, provides water recovery and storage, maintains and provides fire detection/ suppression, and provides breathable air and a comfortable atmosphere in which to live and work within the ISS. The ECLSS hardware will be located in the Node 3 module of the ISS.

The deep space network, volume 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The DSN progress is reported in flight project support, TDA research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. Topics discussed include: DSN functions and facilities, planetary flight projects, tracking and ground-based navigation, communications, data processing, network control system, and deep space stations.

Phillips with TVIS hardware in Zvezda

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-09-07

ISS011-E-12608 (7 September 2005) --- Astronaut John L. Phillips, Expedition 11 NASA Space Station science officer and flight engineer, works with a portion of the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) during In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Flight Engineer Budarin is changing a part in the water recycling system in the SM

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-03-21

ISS006-E-45275 (21 March 2003) --- Cosmonaut Nikolai M. Budarin, Expedition Six flight engineer, holds a piece of hardware near a worktable in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station (ISS). Budarin represents Rosaviakosmos.

Hardware cleanliness methodology and certification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Gale A.; Lash, Thomas J.; Rawls, J. Richard

1995-01-01

Inadequacy of mass loss cleanliness criteria for selection of materials for contamination sensitive uses, and processing of flight hardware for contamination sensitive instruments is discussed. Materials selection for flight hardware is usually based on mass loss (ASTM E-595). However, flight hardware cleanliness (MIL 1246A) is a surface cleanliness assessment. It is possible for materials (e.g. Sil-Pad 2000) to pass ASTM E-595 and fail MIL 1246A class A by orders of magnitude. Conversely, it is possible for small amounts of nonconforming material (Huma-Seal conformal coating) to not present significant cleanliness problems to an optical flight instrument. Effective cleaning (precleaning, precision cleaning, and ultra cleaning) and cleanliness verification are essential for contamination sensitive flight instruments. Polish cleaning of hardware, e.g. vacuum baking for vacuum applications, and storage of clean hardware, e.g. laser optics, is discussed. Silicone materials present special concerns for use in space because of the rapid conversion of the outgassed residues to glass by solar ultraviolet radiation and/or atomic oxygen. Non ozone depleting solvent cleaning and institutional support for cleaning and certification are also discussed.

Optimization of moisture content for wheat seedling germination in a cellulose acetate medium for a space flight experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, C. F.; Dreschel, T. W.; Brown, C. S.; Wheeler, R. M.

1996-01-01

The Porous Tube Plant Nutrient Delivery System (PTPNDS), a hydrophilic, microporous ceramic tube hydroponic system designed for microgravity, will be tested in a middeck locker of the Space Shuttle. The flight experiment will focus on hardware operation and assess its ability to support seed germination and early seedling growth in microgravity. The water controlling system of the PTPNDS hardware has been successfully tested during the parabolic flight of the KC-135. One challenge to the development of the space flight experiment was to devise a method of holding seeds to the cylindrical porous tube. The seed-holder must provide water and air to the seed, absorb water from the porous tube, withstand sterilization, provide a clear path for shoots and roots to emerge, and be composed of flight qualified materials. In preparation for the flight experiment, a wheat seed-holder has been designed that utilizes a cellulose acetate plug to facilitate imbibition and to hold the wheat seeds in contact with the porous tube in the correct orientation during the vibration of launch and the microgravity environment of orbit. Germination and growth studies with wheat at a range of temperatures showed that optimal moisture was 78% (by weight) in the cellulose acetate seed holders. These and other design considerations are discussed.

Toward a Model-Based Approach to Flight System Fault Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Day, John; Murray, Alex; Meakin, Peter

2012-01-01

Fault Protection (FP) is a distinct and separate systems engineering sub-discipline that is concerned with the off-nominal behavior of a system. Flight system fault protection is an important part of the overall flight system systems engineering effort, with its own products and processes. As with other aspects of systems engineering, the FP domain is highly amenable to expression and management in models. However, while there are standards and guidelines for performing FP related analyses, there are not standards or guidelines for formally relating the FP analyses to each other or to the system hardware and software design. As a result, the material generated for these analyses are effectively creating separate models that are only loosely-related to the system being designed. Development of approaches that enable modeling of FP concerns in the same model as the system hardware and software design enables establishment of formal relationships that has great potential for improving the efficiency, correctness, and verification of the implementation of flight system FP. This paper begins with an overview of the FP domain, and then continues with a presentation of a SysML/UML model of the FP domain and the particular analyses that it contains, by way of showing a potential model-based approach to flight system fault protection, and an exposition of the use of the FP models in FSW engineering. The analyses are small examples, inspired by current real-project examples of FP analyses.

X-29A flight control system performance during flight test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, J.; Chacon, V.; Gera, J.

1987-01-01

An account is given of flight control system performance results for the X-29A forward-swept wing 'Advanced Technology Demonstrator' fighter aircraft, with attention to its software and hardware components' achievement of the requisite levels of system stability and desirable aircraft handling qualities. The Automatic Camber Control Logic is found to be well integrated with the stability loop of the aircraft. A number of flight test support software programs developed by NASA facilitated monitoring of the X-29A's stability in real time, and allowed the test team to clear the envelope with confidence.

User's manual for flight Simulator Display System (FSDS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Egerdahl, C. C.

1979-01-01

The capabilities of the flight simulator display system (FSDS) are described. FSDS is a color raster scan display generator designed to meet the special needs of Flight Simulation Laboratories. The FSDS can update (revise) the images it generates every 16.6 mS, with limited support from a host processor. This corresponds to the standard TV vertical rate of 60 Hertz, and allows the system to carry out display functions in a time critical environment. Rotation of a complex image in the television raster with minimal hardware is possible with the system.

Innovative Contamination Certification of Multi-Mission Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Hughes, David W.; Montt, Kristina M.; Triolo, Jack J.

1998-01-01

Maintaining contamination certification of multi-mission flight hardware is an innovative approach to controlling mission costs. Methods for assessing ground induced degradation between missions have been employed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Project for the multi-mission (servicing) hardware. By maintaining the cleanliness of the hardware between missions, and by controlling the materials added to the hardware during modification and refurbishment both project funding for contamination recertification and schedule have been significantly reduced. These methods will be discussed and HST hardware data will be presented.

Innovative Contamination Certification of Multi-Mission Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Hughes, David W.; Montt, Kristina M.; Triolo, Jack J.

1999-01-01

Maintaining contamination certification of multi-mission flight hardware is an innovative approach to controlling mission costs. Methods for assessing ground induced degradation between missions have been employed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Project for the multi-mission (servicing) hardware. By maintaining the cleanliness of the hardware between missions, and by controlling the materials added to the hardware during modification and refurbishment both project funding for contamination recertification and schedule have been significantly reduced. These methods will be discussed and HST hardware data will be presented.

The deep space network, volume 10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Progress on the Deep Space Network (DSN) supporting research and technology is reported. The objectives, functions and facilities of the DSN are described along with the mission support for the following: interplanetary flight projects, planetary flight projects, and manned space flight projects. Work in advanced engineering and communications systems is reported along with changes in hardware and software configurations in the DSN/MSFN tracking stations.

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Flight System and Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke; Mitchell, Jason W.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Valdez, Jennifer E.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wood, Kent S.; Arzoumanian, Zaven;

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Flight System and Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke M. B.; Mitchell, Jason W.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Valdez, Jennifer E.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wood, Kent S.; Arzoumanian, Zaven;

Design and specification of a centralized manufacturing data management and scheduling system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrington, Phillip A.

1993-01-01

As was revealed in a previous study, the Materials and Processes Laboratory's Productivity Enhancement Complex (PEC) has a number of automated production areas/cells that are not effectively integrated, limiting the ability of users to readily share data. The recent decision to utilize the PEC for the fabrication of flight hardware has focused new attention on the problem and brought to light the need for an integrated data management and scheduling system. This report addresses this need by developing preliminary designs specifications for a centralized manufacturing data management and scheduling system for managing flight hardware fabrication in the PEC. This prototype system will be developed under the auspices of the Integrated Engineering Environment (IEE) Oversight team and the IEE Committee. At their recommendation the system specifications were based on the fabrication requirements of the AXAF-S Optical Bench.

A review of flight simulation techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baarspul, Max

After a brief historical review of the evolution of flight simulation techniques, this paper first deals with the main areas of flight simulator applications. Next, it describes the main components of a piloted flight simulator. Because of the presence of the pilot-in-the-loop, the digital computer driving the simulator must solve the aircraft equations of motion in ‘real-time’. Solutions to meet the high required computer power of todays modern flight simulator are elaborated. The physical similarity between aircraft and simulator in cockpit layout, flight instruments, flying controls etc., is discussed, based on the equipment and environmental cue fidelity required for training and research simulators. Visual systems play an increasingly important role in piloted flight simulation. The visual systems now available and most widely used are described, where image generators and display devices will be distinguished. The characteristics of out-of-the-window visual simulation systems pertaining to the perceptual capabilities of human vision are discussed. Faithful reproduction of aircraft motion requires large travel, velocity and acceleration capabilities of the motion system. Different types and applications of motion systems in e.g. airline training and research are described. The principles of motion cue generation, based on the characteristics of the non-visual human motion sensors, are described. The complete motion system, consisting of the hardware and the motion drive software, is discussed. The principles of mathematical modelling of the aerodynamic, flight control, propulsion, landing gear and environmental characteristics of the aircraft are reviewed. An example of the identification of an aircraft mathematical model, based on flight and taxi tests, is presented. Finally, the paper deals with the hardware and software integration of the flight simulator components and the testing and acceptance of the complete flight simulator. Examples of the so-called ‘Computer Generated Checkout’ and ‘Proof of Match’ are presented. The concluding remarks briefly summarize the status of flight simulator technology and consider possibilities for future research.

Global positioning system supported pilot's display

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Marshall M., Jr.; Erdogan, Temel; Schwalb, Andrew P.; Curley, Charles H.

1991-01-01

The hardware, software, and operation of the Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) Flight Inspection System Pilot's Display is discussed. The Pilot's Display is used in conjunction with flight inspection tests that certify the Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System used at Space Shuttle landing facilities throughout the world. The Pilot's Display was developed for the pilot of test aircraft to set up and fly a given test flight path determined by the flight inspection test engineers. This display also aids the aircraft pilot when hazy or cloud cover conditions exist that limit the pilot's visibility of the Shuttle runway during the flight inspection. The aircraft position is calculated using the Global Positioning System and displayed in the cockpit on a graphical display.

System-Level Testing of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Engineering Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Jack; Wiser, Jack; Brown, Greg; Florin, Dominic; Oriti, Salvatore M.

2014-01-01

To support future NASA deep space missions, a radioisotope power system utilizing Stirling power conversion technology was under development. This development effort was performed under the joint sponsorship of the Department of Energy and NASA, until its termination at the end of 2013 due to budget constraints. The higher conversion efficiency of the Stirling cycle compared with that of the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) used in previous missions (Viking, Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini, Pluto New Horizons and Mars Science Laboratory) offers the advantage of a four-fold reduction in Pu-238 fuel, thereby extending its limited domestic supply. As part of closeout activities, system-level testing of flight-like Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs) with a flight-like ASC Controller Unit (ACU) was performed in February 2014. This hardware is the most representative of the flight design tested to date. The test fully demonstrates the following ACU and system functionality: system startup; ASC control and operation at nominal and worst-case operating conditions; power rectification; DC output power management throughout nominal and out-of-range host voltage levels; ACU fault management, and system command / telemetry via MIL-STD 1553 bus. This testing shows the viability of such a system for future deep space missions and bolsters confidence in the maturity of the flight design.

Reliability and Qualification of Hardware to Enhance the Mission Assurance of JPL/NASA Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2010-01-01

Packaging Qualification and Verification (PQV) and life testing of advanced electronic packaging, mechanical assemblies (motors/actuators), and interconnect technologies (flip-chip), platinum temperature thermometer attachment processes, and various other types of hardware for Mars Exploration Rover (MER)/Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), and JUNO flight projects was performed to enhance the mission assurance. The qualification of hardware under extreme cold to hot temperatures was performed with reference to various project requirements. The flight like packages, assemblies, test coupons, and subassemblies were selected for the study to survive three times the total number of expected temperature cycles resulting from all environmental and operational exposures occurring over the life of the flight hardware including all relevant manufacturing, ground operations, and mission phases. Qualification/life testing was performed by subjecting flight-like qualification hardware to the environmental temperature extremes and assessing any structural failures, mechanical failures or degradation in electrical performance due to either overstress or thermal cycle fatigue. Experimental flight qualification test results will be described in this presentation.

A highly reliable, high performance open avionics architecture for real time Nap-of-the-Earth operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harper, Richard E.; Elks, Carl

1995-01-01

An Army Fault Tolerant Architecture (AFTA) has been developed to meet real-time fault tolerant processing requirements of future Army applications. AFTA is the enabling technology that will allow the Army to configure existing processors and other hardware to provide high throughput and ultrahigh reliability necessary for TF/TA/NOE flight control and other advanced Army applications. A comprehensive conceptual study of AFTA has been completed that addresses a wide range of issues including requirements, architecture, hardware, software, testability, producibility, analytical models, validation and verification, common mode faults, VHDL, and a fault tolerant data bus. A Brassboard AFTA for demonstration and validation has been fabricated, and two operating systems and a flight-critical Army application have been ported to it. Detailed performance measurements have been made of fault tolerance and operating system overheads while AFTA was executing the flight application in the presence of faults.

Report by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The process of preparation for the first two shuttle flights was observed and information from both flights was gathered in order to confirm the concept and performance of the major elements of the space transportation system. To achieve truly operational operating safety, regularity, and minimum practical cost, the organization of efforts between the R&D community and any transportation service organization should be clearly separated with the latter organization assuming responsibilities for marketing its services; planning and acquiring prime hardware and spares; maintainance; certification of procedures; training; and creation of requirements for future development. A technical audit of the application of redundancy concepts to shuttle systems is suggested. The state of the art of space transportation hardware suggests that a number of concept changes may improve reliability, costs, and operational safety. For the remaining R&D flights, it is suggested that a redline audit be made of limits that should not be exceeded for ready to launch.

The implementation of a lossless data compression module in an advanced orbiting system: Analysis and development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeh, Pen-Shu; Miller, Warner H.; Venbrux, Jack; Liu, Norley; Rice, Robert F.

1993-01-01

Data compression has been proposed for several flight missions as a means of either reducing on board mass data storage, increasing science data return through a bandwidth constrained channel, reducing TDRSS access time, or easing ground archival mass storage requirement. Several issues arise with the implementation of this technology. These include the requirement of a clean channel, onboard smoothing buffer, onboard processing hardware and on the algorithm itself, the adaptability to scene changes and maybe even versatility to the various mission types. This paper gives an overview of an ongoing effort being performed at Goddard Space Flight Center for implementing a lossless data compression scheme for space flight. We will provide analysis results on several data systems issues, the performance of the selected lossless compression scheme, the status of the hardware processor and current development plan.

NASA MSFC hardware in the loop simulations of automatic rendezvous and capture systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tobbe, Patrick A.; Naumann, Charles B.; Sutton, William; Bryan, Thomas C.

1991-01-01

Two complementary hardware-in-the-loop simulation facilities for automatic rendezvous and capture systems at MSFC are described. One, the Flight Robotics Laboratory, uses an 8 DOF overhead manipulator with a work volume of 160 by 40 by 23 feet to evaluate automatic rendezvous algorithms and range/rate sensing systems. The other, the Space Station/Station Operations Mechanism Test Bed, uses a 6 DOF hydraulic table to perform docking and berthing dynamics simulations.

Mission Engineering of a Rapid Cycle Spacecraft Logistics Fleet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holladay, Jon; McClendon, Randy (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The requirement for logistics re-supply of the International Space Station has provided a unique opportunity for engineering the implementation of NASA's first dedicated pressurized logistics carrier fleet. The NASA fleet is comprised of three Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLM) provided to NASA by the Italian Space Agency in return for operations time aboard the International Space Station. Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for oversight of the hardware development from preliminary design through acceptance of the third flight unit, and currently manages the flight hardware sustaining engineering and mission engineering activities. The actual MPLM Mission began prior to NASA acceptance of the first flight unit in 1999 and will continue until the de-commission of the International Space Station that is planned for 20xx. Mission engineering of the MPLM program requires a broad focus on three distinct yet inter-related operations processes: pre-flight, flight operations, and post-flight turn-around. Within each primary area exist several complex subsets of distinct and inter-related activities. Pre-flight processing includes the evaluation of carrier hardware readiness for space flight. This includes integration of payload into the carrier, integration of the carrier into the launch vehicle, and integration of the carrier onto the orbital platform. Flight operations include the actual carrier operations during flight and any required real-time ground support. Post-flight processing includes de-integration of the carrier hardware from the launch vehicle, de-integration of the payload, and preparation for returning the carrier to pre-flight staging. Typical space operations are engineered around the requirements and objectives of a dedicated mission on a dedicated operational platform (i.e. Launch or Orbiting Vehicle). The MPLM, however, has expanded this envelope by requiring operations with both vehicles during flight as well as pre-launch and post-landing operations. These unique requirements combined with a success-oriented schedule of four flights within a ten-month period have provided numerous opportunities for understanding and improving operations processes. Furthermore, it has increased the knowledge base of future Payload Carrier and Launch Vehicle hardware and requirement developments. Discussion of the process flows and target areas for process improvement are provided in the subject paper. Special emphasis is also placed on supplying guidelines for hardware development. The combination of process knowledge and hardware development knowledge will provide a comprehensive overview for future vehicle developments as related to integration and transportation of payloads.

Advanced Environmental Monitoring Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jan, Darrell

2004-01-01

Viewgraphs on Advanced Environmental Monitoring Technologies are presented. The topics include: 1) Monitoring & Controlling the Environment; 2) Illustrative Example: Canary 3) Ground-based Commercial Technology; 4) High Capability & Low Mass/Power + Autonomy = Key to Future SpaceFlight; 5) Current Practice: in Flight; 6) Current Practice: Post Flight; 7) Miniature Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration and Long Duration Human Flight; 8) Hardware and Data Acquisition System; 9) 16S rDNA Phylogenetic Tree; and 10) Preview of Porter.

The development of spaceflight experiments with Arabidopsis as a model system in gravitropism studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katembe, W. J.; Edelmann, R. E.; Brinckmann, E.; Kiss, J. Z.

1998-01-01

Experiments with Arabidopsis have been developed for spaceflight studies in the European Space Agency's Biorack module. The Biorack is a multiuser facility that is flown on the United States Space Shuttle and serves as a small laboratory for studying cell and developmental biology in unicells, plants, and small invertebrates. The purpose of our spaceflight research was to investigate the starch-statolith model for gravity perception by studying wild-type (WT) and three starch-deficient mutants of Arabidopsis. Since spaceflight opportunities for biological experimentation are scarce, the extensive ground-based testing described in this paper is needed to ensure the success of a flight project. Therefore, the specific aims of our ground-based research were: (1) to modify the internal configuration of the flight hardware, which originally was designed for large lentil seeds, to accommodate small Arabidopsis seeds; (2) to maximize seed germination in the hardware; and (3) to develop favorable conditions in flight hardware for the growth and gravitropism of seedlings. The hardware has been modified, and growth conditions for Arabidopsis have been optimized. These experiments were successfully flown on two Space Shuttle missions in 1997.

ESA hardware for plant research on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brinckmann, E.

The long awaited launch of the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) will provide a platform on which long-term and shorter experiments with plants will be performed on the International Space Station (ISS). EMCS is equipped with two centrifuge rotors (600 mm diameter), which can be used for in-flight 1 g controls and for studies with acceleration levels from 0.001 g to 2.0 g. Several experiments are in preparation investigating gravity relating to gene expression, gravisensing and phototropism of Arabidopsis thaliana and lentil roots. The experiment-specific hardware provides growth chambers for seedlings and whole A. thaliana plants and is connected to the EMCS Life Support System. Besides in-flight video observation, the experiments will be evaluated post-flight by means of fixed or frozen material. EMCS will have for the first time the possibility to fix samples on the rotating centrifuge, allowing a detailed analysis of the process of gravisensing. About two years after the EMCS launch, ESA's Biolab will be launched in the European "Columbus" Module. In a similar way as in EMCS, Biolab will accommodate experiments with plant seedlings and automatic fixation processes on the centrifuge. The hardware concepts for these experiments are presented in this communication.

Building a GPS Receiver for Space Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sirotzky, Steve; Heckler, G. W.; Boegner, G.; Roman, J.; Wennersten, M.; Butler, R.; Davis, M.; Lanham, A.; Winternitz, L.; Thompson, W.;

Three axis electronic flight motion simulator real time control system design and implementation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Zhiyuan; Miao, Zhonghua, E-mail: zhonghua-miao@163.com; Wang, Xiaohua

2014-12-15

A three axis electronic flight motion simulator is reported in this paper including the modelling, the controller design as well as the hardware implementation. This flight motion simulator could be used for inertial navigation test and high precision inertial navigation system with good dynamic and static performances. A real time control system is designed, several control system implementation problems were solved including time unification with parallel port interrupt, high speed finding-zero method of rotary inductosyn, zero-crossing management with continuous rotary, etc. Tests were carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed real time control system.

Three axis electronic flight motion simulator real time control system design and implementation.

PubMed

Gao, Zhiyuan; Miao, Zhonghua; Wang, Xuyong; Wang, Xiaohua

2014-12-01

A three axis electronic flight motion simulator is reported in this paper including the modelling, the controller design as well as the hardware implementation. This flight motion simulator could be used for inertial navigation test and high precision inertial navigation system with good dynamic and static performances. A real time control system is designed, several control system implementation problems were solved including time unification with parallel port interrupt, high speed finding-zero method of rotary inductosyn, zero-crossing management with continuous rotary, etc. Tests were carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed real time control system.

Life sciences flight hardware development for the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kern, V. D.; Bhattacharya, S.; Bowman, R. N.; Donovan, F. M.; Elland, C.; Fahlen, T. F.; Girten, B.; Kirven-Brooks, M.; Lagel, K.; Meeker, G. B.; Santos, O.

During the construction phase of the International Space Station (ISS), early flight opportunities have been identified (including designated Utilization Flights, UF) on which early science experiments may be performed. The focus of NASA's and other agencies' biological studies on the early flight opportunities is cell and molecular biology; with UF-1 scheduled to fly in fall 2001, followed by flights 8A and UF-3. Specific hardware is being developed to verify design concepts, e.g., the Avian Development Facility for incubation of small eggs and the Biomass Production System for plant cultivation. Other hardware concepts will utilize those early research opportunities onboard the ISS, e.g., an Incubator for sample cultivation, the European Modular Cultivation System for research with small plant systems, an Insect Habitat for support of insect species. Following the first Utilization Flights, additional equipment will be transported to the ISS to expand research opportunities and capabilities, e.g., a Cell Culture Unit, the Advanced Animal Habitat for rodents, an Aquatic Facility to support small fish and aquatic specimens, a Plant Research Unit for plant cultivation, and a specialized Egg Incubator for developmental biology studies. Host systems (Figure 1A, B), e.g., a 2.5 m Centrifuge Rotor (g-levels from 0.01-g to 2-g) for direct comparisons between μg and selectable g levels, the Life Sciences Glove☐ for contained manipulations, and Habitat Holding Racks (Figure 1B) will provide electrical power, communication links, and cooling to the habitats. Habitats will provide food, water, light, air and waste management as well as humidity and temperature control for a variety of research organisms. Operators on Earth and the crew on the ISS will be able to send commands to the laboratory equipment to monitor and control the environmental and experimental parameters inside specific habitats. Common laboratory equipment such as microscopes, cryo freezers, radiation dosimeters, and mass measurement devices are also currently in design stages by NASA and the ISS international partners.

Space biology initiative program definition review. Trade study 2: Prototype utilization in the development of space biology hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, L. Neal; Crenshaw, John, Sr.; Schulze, Arthur E.; Wood, H. J., Jr.

1989-01-01

The objective was to define the factors which space flight hardware developers and planners should consider when determining: (1) the number of hardware units required to support program; (2) design level of the units; and (3) most efficient means of utilization of the units. The analysis considered technology risk, maintainability, reliability, and safety design requirements for achieving the delivery of highest quality flight hardware. Relative cost impacts of the utilization of prototyping were identified. The development of Space Biology Initiative research hardware will involve intertwined hardware/software activities. Experience has shown that software development can be an expensive portion of a system design program. While software prototyping could imply the development of a significantly different end item, an operational system prototype must be considered to be a combination of software and hardware. Hundreds of factors were identified that could be considered in determining the quantity and types of prototypes that should be constructed. In developing the decision models, these factors were combined and reduced by approximately ten-to-one in order to develop a manageable structure based on the major determining factors. The Baseline SBI hardware list of Appendix D was examined and reviewed in detail; however, from the facts available it was impossible to identify the exact types and quantities of prototypes required for each of these items. Although the factors that must be considered could be enumerated for each of these pieces of equipment, the exact status and state of development of the equipment is variable and uncertain at this time.

Plant Production Systems for Microgravity: Critical Issues in Water, Air, and Solute Transport Through Unsaturated Porous Media

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinberg, Susan L. (Editor); Ming, Doug W. (Editor); Henninger, Don (Editor)

2002-01-01

This NASA Technical Memorandum is a compilation of presentations and discussions in the form of minutes from a workshop entitled 'Plant Production Systems for Microgravity: Critical Issues in Water, Air, and Solute Transport Through Unsaturated Porous Media' held at NASA's Johnson Space Center, July 24-25, 2000. This workshop arose from the growing belief within NASA's Advanced Life Support Program that further advances and improvements in plant production systems for microgravity would benefit from additional knowledge of fundamental processes occurring in the root zone. The objective of the workshop was to bring together individuals who had expertise in various areas of fluid physics, soil physics, plant physiology, hardware development, and flight tests to identify, discuss, and prioritize critical issues of water and air flow through porous media in microgravity. Participants of the workshop included representatives from private companies involved in flight hardware development and scientists from universities and NASA Centers with expertise in plant flight tests, plant physiology, fluid physics, and soil physics.

Space Flight Human System Standards (SFHSS). Volume 2; Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Factors" and Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Fitts, David J.

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the standards for space flight hardware based on human capabilities and limitations. The contents include: 1) Scope; 2) Applicable documents; 3) General; 4) Human Physical Characteristics and Capabilities; 5) Human Performance and Cognition; 6) Natural and Induced Environments; 7) Habitability Functions; 8) Architecture; 9) Hardware and Equipment; 10) Crew Interfaces; 11) Spacesuits; 12) Operatons: Reserved; 13) Ground Maintenance and Assembly: Reserved; 14) Appendix A-Reference Documents; 15) Appendix N-Acronyms and 16) Appendix C-Definition. Volume 2 is supported by the Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH)s.

Best Practices: Power Quality and Integrated Testing at JSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Lydia

2018-01-01

This presentation discusses Best Practices for Power Quality and Integrated Testing at JSC in regards to electrical systems. These high-level charts include mostly generic information; however, a specific issue is discussed involving flight hardware that could have been discovered prior to flight with an integrated test.

Microcontroller uses in Long-Duration Ballooning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Joseph

This paper discusses how microcontrollers are being utilized to fulfill the demands of long duration ballooning (LDB) and the advantages of doing so. The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) offers the service of launching high altitude balloons (120k ft) which provide an over the horizon telemetry system and platform for scientific research payloads to collect data. CSBF has utilized microcontrollers to address multiple tasks and functions which were previously performed by more complex systems. A microcontroller system has been recently developed and programmed in house to replace our previous backup navigation system which is used on all LDB flights. A similar microcontroller system was developed to be independently launched in Antarctica before the actual scientific payload. This system's function is to transmit its GPS position and a small housekeeping packet so that we can confirm the upper level float winds are as predicted from satellite derived models. Microcontrollers have also been used to create test equipment to functionally check out the flight hardware used in our telemetry systems. One test system which was developed can be used to quickly determine if our communication link we are providing for the science payloads is functioning properly. Another system was developed to provide us with the ability to easily determine the status of one of our over the horizon communication links through a closed loop system. This test system has given us the capability to provide more field support to science groups than we were able to in years past. The trend of utilizing microcontrollers has taken place for a number of reasons. By using microcontrollers to fill these needs, it has given us the ability to quickly design and implement systems which meet flight critical needs, as well as perform many of the everyday tasks in LDB. This route has also allowed us to reduce the amount of time required for personnel to perform a number of the tasks required during the initial fabrication and also refurbishing processes of flight hardware systems. The recent use of microcontrollers in the design of both LDB flight hardware and test equipment has shown some examples of the adaptability and usefulness they have provided for our workplace.

Innovations in dynamic test restraint systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuld, Christopher J.

1990-01-01

Recent launch system development programs have led to a new generation of large scale dynamic tests. The variety of test scenarios share one common requirement: restrain and capture massive high velocity flight hardware with no structural damage. The Space Systems Lab of McDonnell Douglas developed a remarkably simple and cost effective approach to such testing using ripstitch energy absorbers adapted from the sport of technical rockclimbing. The proven system reliability of the capture system concept has led to a wide variety of applications in test system design and in aerospace hardware design.

Markov Jump-Linear Performance Models for Recoverable Flight Control Computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Hong; Gray, W. Steven; Gonzalez, Oscar R.

2004-01-01

Single event upsets in digital flight control hardware induced by atmospheric neutrons can reduce system performance and possibly introduce a safety hazard. One method currently under investigation to help mitigate the effects of these upsets is NASA Langley s Recoverable Computer System. In this paper, a Markov jump-linear model is developed for a recoverable flight control system, which will be validated using data from future experiments with simulated and real neutron environments. The method of tracking error analysis and the plan for the experiments are also described.

Optoelectronics research for communication programs at the Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, Michael A.

1991-01-01

Current optoelectronics research and development of high-power, high-bandwidth laser transmitters, high-bandwidth, high-sensitivity optical receivers, pointing, acquisition and tracking components, and experimental and theoretical system modeling at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is reviewed. Program hardware and space flight milestones are presented. It is believed that these experiments will pave the way for intersatellite optical communications links for both the NASA Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and commercial users in the 21st century.

Early Flight Fission Test Facilities (EFF-TF) and Concepts That Support Near-Term Space Fission Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanDyke, Melissa; Houts, Mike; Godfroy, Thomas; Martin, James

2003-01-01

Fission technology can enable rapid, affordable access to any point in the solar system. If fusion propulsion systems are to be developed to their full potential; however, near-term customers must be identified and initial fission systems successfully developed, launched, and utilized. Successful utilization will most likely occur if frequent, significant hardware-based milestones can be achieved throughout the program. If the system is designed to operate within established radiation damage and fuel burn up limits while simultaneously being designed to allow close simulation of heat from fission using resistance heaters, high confidence in fission system pe$ormance and lifetime can be attained through non-nuclear testing. Through demonstration of systems concepts (designed by DOE National Laboratories) in relevant environments, this philosophy has been demonstrated through hardware testing in the Early Flight Fission Test Facilities (EFF-TF) at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The EFF-TF is designed to enable very realistic non-nuclear testing of space fission systems. Ongoing research at the EFF-TF is geared towards facilitating research, development, system integration, and system utilization via cooperative efforts with DOE labs, industry, universities, and other NASA centers.

Verification of the FtCayuga fault-tolerant microprocessor system. Volume 1: A case study in theorem prover-based verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivas, Mandayam; Bickford, Mark

1991-01-01

The design and formal verification of a hardware system for a task that is an important component of a fault tolerant computer architecture for flight control systems is presented. The hardware system implements an algorithm for obtaining interactive consistancy (byzantine agreement) among four microprocessors as a special instruction on the processors. The property verified insures that an execution of the special instruction by the processors correctly accomplishes interactive consistency, provided certain preconditions hold. An assumption is made that the processors execute synchronously. For verification, the authors used a computer aided design hardware design verification tool, Spectool, and the theorem prover, Clio. A major contribution of the work is the demonstration of a significant fault tolerant hardware design that is mechanically verified by a theorem prover.

Telescience operations with the solar array module plasma interaction experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wald, Lawrence W.; Bibyk, Irene K.

1995-01-01

The Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment (SAMPIE) is a flight experiment that flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994, as part of the OAST-2 mission. The overall objective of SAMPIE was to determine the adverse environmental interactions within the space plasma of low earth orbit (LEO) on modern solar cells and space power system materials which are artificially biased to high positive and negative direct current (DC) voltages. The two environmental interactions of interest included high voltage arcing from the samples to the space plasma and parasitic current losses. High voltage arcing can cause physical damage to power system materials and shorten expected hardware life. parasitic current losses can reduce power system efficiency because electric currents generated in a power system drain into the surrounding plasma via parasitic resistance. The flight electronics included two programmable high voltage DC power supplies to bias the experiment samples, instruments to measure the surrounding plasma environment in the STS cargo bay, and the on-board data acquisition system (DAS). The DAS provided in-flight experiment control, data storage, and communications through the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Hitchhiker flight avionics to the GSFC Payload Operations Control Center (POCC). The DAS and the SAMPIE POCC computer systems were designed for telescience operations; this paper will focus on the experiences of the SAMPIE team regarding telescience development and operations from the GSFC POCC during STS-62. The SAMPIE conceptual development, hardware design, and system verification testing were accomplished at the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). SAMPIE was developed under the In-Space Technology Experiment Program (IN-STEP), which sponsors NASA, industry, and university flight experiments designed to enable and enhance space flight technology. The IN-STEP Program is sponsored by the Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT).

[Micron]ADS-B Detect and Avoid Flight Tests on Phantom 4 Unmanned Aircraft System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arteaga, Ricardo; Dandachy, Mike; Truong, Hong; Aruljothi, Arun; Vedantam, Mihir; Epperson, Kraettli; McCartney, Reed

2018-01-01

Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and Vigilant Aerospace Systems collaborated for the flight-test demonstration of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast based collision avoidance technology on a small unmanned aircraft system equipped with the uAvionix Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast transponder. The purpose of the testing was to demonstrate that National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Vigilant software and algorithms, commercialized as the FlightHorizon UAS"TM", are compatible with uAvionix hardware systems and the DJI Phantom 4 small unmanned aircraft system. The testing and demonstrations were necessary for both parties to further develop and certify the technology in three key areas: flights beyond visual line of sight, collision avoidance, and autonomous operations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Vigilant Aerospace Systems have developed and successfully flight-tested an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid system on the Phantom 4 small unmanned aircraft system. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid system architecture is especially suited for small unmanned aircraft systems because it integrates: 1) miniaturized Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast hardware; 2) radio data-link communications; 3) software algorithms for real-time Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data integration, conflict detection, and alerting; and 4) a synthetic vision display using a fully-integrated National Aeronautics and Space Administration geobrowser for three dimensional graphical representations for ownship and air traffic situational awareness. The flight-test objectives were to evaluate the performance of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Detect and Avoid collision avoidance technology as installed on two small unmanned aircraft systems. In December 2016, four flight tests were conducted at Edwards Air Force Base. Researchers in the ground control station looking at displays were able to verify the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast target detection and collision avoidance resolutions.

Distributed asynchronous microprocessor architectures in fault tolerant integrated flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, W. R.

1983-01-01

The paper discusses the implementation of fault tolerant digital flight control and navigation systems for rotorcraft application. It is shown that in implementing fault tolerance at the systems level using advanced LSI/VLSI technology, aircraft physical layout and flight systems requirements tend to define a system architecture of distributed, asynchronous microprocessors in which fault tolerance can be achieved locally through hardware redundancy and/or globally through application of analytical redundancy. The effects of asynchronism on the execution of dynamic flight software is discussed. It is shown that if the asynchronous microprocessors have knowledge of time, these errors can be significantly reduced through appropiate modifications of the flight software. Finally, the papear extends previous work to show that through the combined use of time referencing and stable flight algorithms, individual microprocessors can be configured to autonomously tolerate intermittent faults.

An overview of in-flight plume diagnostics for rocket engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madzsar, G. C.; Bickford, R. L.; Duncan, D. B.

1992-01-01

An overview and progress report of the work performed or sponsored by LeRC toward the development of in-flight plume spectroscopy technology for health and performance monitoring of liquid propellant rocket engines are presented. The primary objective of this effort is to develop technology that can be utilized on any flight engine. This technology will be validated by a hardware demonstration of a system capable of being retrofitted onto the Space Shuttle Main Engines for spectroscopic measurements during flight. The philosophy on system definition and status on the development of instrumentation, optics, and signal processing with respect to implementation on a flight engine are discussed.

LDEF Materials/Contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, Gary

1997-01-01

This pictorial presentation reviews the post-flight analysis results from two type of hardware (tray clamp bolt heads and uhcre flight experiment tray walls) from the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). It will also discuss flight hardware for one upcoming (Effects of the Space Environment on Materials (ESEM) flight experiment), and two current flight experiments evaluating the performance of materials in space (Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA) 1&2 flight experiments. These flight experiments also are concerned with contamination effects which will also be discussed.

Ares I-X Flight Test - The Future Begins Here

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephan R.

2008-01-01

In less than two years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch the Ares I-X mission. This will be the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, which, together with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, will eventually send humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As the countdown to this first Ares mission continues, personnel from across the Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) are finalizing designs and fabricating vehicle hardware for an April 2009 launch. This paper will discuss the hardware and programmatic progress of the Ares I-X mission. Like the Apollo program, the Ares launch vehicles will rely upon extensive ground, flight, and orbital testing before sending the Orion crew exploration vehicle into space with humans on board. The first flight of Ares I, designated Ares I-X, will be a suborbital development flight test. Ares I-X gives NASA its first opportunity to gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack; understand how to control its roll during flight; better characterize the severe stage separation environments that the upper stage engine will experience during future operational flights; and demonstrate the first stage recovery system. NASA also will begin modifying the launch infrastructure and fine-tuning ground and mission operations, as the agency makes the transition from the Space Shuttle to the Ares/Orion system.

A Functional Description of a Digital Flight Test System for Navigation and Guidance Research in the Terminal Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hegarty, D. M.

1974-01-01

A guidance, navigation, and control system, the Simulated Shuttle Flight Test System (SS-FTS), when interfaced with existing aircraft systems, provides a research facility for studying concepts for landing the space shuttle orbiter and conventional jet aircraft. The SS-FTS, which includes a general-purpose computer, performs all computations for precisely following a prescribed approach trajectory while properly managing the vehicle energy to allow safe arrival at the runway and landing within prescribed dispersions. The system contains hardware and software provisions for navigation with several combinations of possible navigation aids that have been suggested for the shuttle. The SS-FTS can be reconfigured to study different guidance and navigation concepts by changing only the computer software, and adapted to receive different radio navigation information through minimum hardware changes. All control laws, logic, and mode interlocks reside solely in the computer software.

Environmental Friendly Coatings and Corrosion Prevention For Flight Hardware Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Luz

2014-01-01

Identify, test and develop qualification criteria for environmentally friendly corrosion protective coatings and corrosion preventative compounds (CPC's) for flight hardware an ground support equipment.

Mission Control Center (MCC) System Specification for the Shuttle Orbital Flight Test (OFT) Timeframe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

System specifications to be used by the mission control center (MCC) for the shuttle orbital flight test (OFT) time frame were described. The three support systems discussed are the communication interface system (CIS), the data computation complex (DCC), and the display and control system (DCS), all of which may interfere with, and share processing facilities with other applications processing supporting current MCC programs. The MCC shall provide centralized control of the space shuttle OFT from launch through orbital flight, entry, and landing until the Orbiter comes to a stop on the runway. This control shall include the functions of vehicle management in the area of hardware configuration (verification), flight planning, communication and instrumentation configuration management, trajectory, software and consumables, payloads management, flight safety, and verification of test conditions/environment.

Development of low cost custom hybrid microcircuit technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, K. L.; Licari, J. J.

1981-01-01

Selected potentially low cost, alternate packaging and interconnection techniques were developed and implemented in the manufacture of specific NASA/MSFC hardware, and the actual cost savings achieved by their use. The hardware chosen as the test bed for this evaluation ws the hybrids and modules manufactured by Rockwell International fo the MSFC Flight Accelerometer Safety Cut-Off System (FASCOS). Three potentially low cost packaging and interconnection alternates were selected for evaluation. This study was performed in three phases: hardware fabrication and testing, cost comparison, and reliability evaluation.

Optimization of moisture content for wheat seedling germination in a cellulose acetate medium for a space flight experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Corinne F.; Dreschel, Thomas W.; Brown, Christopher S.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

1994-01-01

The Porous Tube Plant Nutrient Delivery System (PTPNDS), a hydrophilic, microporous ceramic tube hydroponic system designed for microgravity, will be tested in a middeck locker of the Space Shuttle. The flight experiment will focus on hardware operation and assess its ability to support seed germination and early seedling growth in microgravity. The water controlling system of the PTPNDS hardware has been successfully tested during the parabolic flight of the KC-135. One challenge to the development of the spaceflight experiment was to devise a method of holding seeds to the cylindrical porous tube. The seed holder must provide water and air to the seed, absorb water from the porous tube, withstand sterilization, provide a clear path for shoots and roots to emerge, and be composed of flight qualified materials. In preparation for the flight experiment, a wheat seed-holder has been designed that utilizes a cellulose acetate plug to facilitate imbibition and to hold the wheat seeds in contact with the porous tube in the correct orientation during the vibration of launch and the microgravity environment of orbit. Germination and growth studies with wheat at a range of temperatures showed that optimal moisture was 78% (by weight) in the cellulose acetate seed holders. These and other design considerations are discussed.

Testing Microgravity Flight Hardware Concepts on the NASA KC-135

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Motil, Susan M.; Harrivel, Angela R.; Zimmerli, Gregory A.

2001-01-01

This paper provides an overview of utilizing the NASA KC-135 Reduced Gravity Aircraft for the Foam Optics and Mechanics (FOAM) microgravity flight project. The FOAM science requirements are summarized, and the KC-135 test-rig used to test hardware concepts designed to meet the requirements are described. Preliminary results regarding foam dispensing, foam/surface slip tests, and dynamic light scattering data are discussed in support of the flight hardware development for the FOAM experiment.

Extended mission life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrone, P. D.

1985-01-01

Extended manned space missions which include interplanetary missions require regenerative life support systems. Manned mission life support considerations are placed in perspective and previous manned space life support system technology, activities and accomplishments in current supporting research and technology (SR&T) programs are reviewed. The life support subsystem/system technologies required for an enhanced duration orbiter (EDO) and a space operations center (SOC), regenerative life support functions and technology required for manned interplanetary flight vehicles, and future development requirements are outlined. The Space Shuttle Orbiters (space transportation system) is space cabin atmosphere is maintained at Earth ambient pressure of 14.7 psia (20% O2 and 80% N2). The early Shuttle flights will be seven-day flights, and the life support system flight hardware will still utilize expendables.

Impact of new computing systems on computational mechanics and flight-vehicle structures technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, A. K.; Storaasli, O. O.; Fulton, R. E.

1984-01-01

Advances in computer technology which may have an impact on computational mechanics and flight vehicle structures technology were reviewed. The characteristics of supersystems, highly parallel systems, and small systems are summarized. The interrelations of numerical algorithms and software with parallel architectures are discussed. A scenario for future hardware/software environment and engineering analysis systems is presented. Research areas with potential for improving the effectiveness of analysis methods in the new environment are identified.

Potential Damage to Flight Hardware from MIL-STD-462 CS02 Setup

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Patrick K.; Block, Nathan F.

2003-01-01

The MIL-STD-462 CS02 conducted susceptibility test setup includes an audio transformer, with the secondary used as an inductor, and a large capacitor. Together, these two components form an L-type low-pass filter to minimize the injected test signal input into the power source. Some flight hardware power input configurations are not compatible with this setup and break into oscillation when powered up. This, in turn, can damage flight hardware. Such an oscillation resulted in the catastrophic failure of an item tested in the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Large electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Test Facility.

Potential Damage to Flight Hardware from MIL-STD-462 CS02 Setup

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Patrick K.; Block, Nathan F.

2002-01-01

The MIL-STD-462 CS02 conducted susceptibility test setup, performed during electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing, consists of an audio transformer with the secondary used as an inductor and a large capacitor. Together, these two components form an L-type low-pass filter to minimize the injected test signal input into the power source. Some flight hardware power input configurations are not compatible with this setup and break into oscillation when powered up. This can damage flight hardware and caused a catastrophic failure to an item tested in the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Large EMC Test Facility.

STS-103 Crew Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) team is preparing for NASA's third scheduled service call to Hubble. This mission, STS-103, will launch from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven flight crew members are Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Scott J. Kelly, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy who will join space walkers Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale, John M. Grunsfeld, and ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier. The objectives of the HST Third Servicing Mission (SM3A) are to replace the telescope's six gyroscopes, a Fine-Guidance Sensor, an S-Band Single Access Transmitter, a spare solid-state recorder and a high-voltage/temperature kit for protecting the batteries from overheating. In addition, the crew plans to install an advanced computer that is 20 times faster and has six times the memory of the current Hubble Space Telescope computer. To prepare for these extravehicular activities (EVAs), the SM3A astronauts participated in Crew Familiarization sessions with the actual SM3A flight hardware. During these sessions the crew spent long hours rehearsing their space walks in the Guidance Navigation Simulator and NBL (Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory). Using space gloves, flight Space Support Equipment (SSE), and Crew Aids and Tools (CATs), the astronauts trained with and verified flight orbital replacement unit (ORU) hardware. The crew worked with a number of trainers and simulators, such as the High Fidelity Mechanical Simulator, Guidance Navigation Simulator, System Engineering Simulator, the Aft Shroud Door Trainer, the Forward Shell/Light Shield Simulator, and the Support Systems Module Bay Doors Simulator. They also trained and verified the flight Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier (ORUC) and its ancillary hardware. Discovery's planned 10-day flight is scheduled to end with a night landing at Kennedy.

Qualification Testing of Engineering Camera and Platinum Resistance Thermometer (PRT) Sensors for Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project under Extreme Temperatures to Assess Reliability and to Enhance Mission Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni; Maki, Justin N.; Cucullu, Gordon C.

2008-01-01

Package Qualification and Verification (PQV) of advanced electronic packaging and interconnect technologies and various other types of qualification hardware for the Mars Exploration Rover/Mars Science Laboratory flight projects has been performed to enhance the mission assurance. The qualification of hardware (Engineering Camera and Platinum Resistance Thermometer, PRT) under extreme cold temperatures has been performed with reference to various project requirements. The flight-like packages, sensors, and subassemblies have been selected for the study to survive three times (3x) the total number of expected temperature cycles resulting from all environmental and operational exposures occurring over the life of the flight hardware including all relevant manufacturing, ground operations and mission phases. Qualification has been performed by subjecting above flight-like qual hardware to the environmental temperature extremes and assessing any structural failures or degradation in electrical performance due to either overstress or thermal cycle fatigue. Experiments of flight like hardware qualification test results have been described in this paper.

Manned spacecraft electrical power systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, William E.; Nored, Donald L.

1987-01-01

A brief history of the development of electrical power systems from the earliest manned space flights illustrates a natural trend toward a growth of electrical power requirements and operational lifetimes with each succeeding space program. A review of the design philosophy and development experience associated with the Space Shuttle Orbiter electrical power system is presented, beginning with the state of technology at the conclusion of the Apollo Program. A discussion of prototype, verification, and qualification hardware is included, and several design improvements following the first Orbiter flight are described. The problems encountered, the scientific and engineering approaches used to meet the technological challenges, and the results obtained are stressed. Major technology barriers and their solutions are discussed, and a brief Orbiter flight experience summary of early Space Shuttle missions is included. A description of projected Space Station power requirements and candidate system concepts which could satisfy these anticipated needs is presented. Significant challenges different from Space Shuttle, innovative concepts and ideas, and station growth considerations are discussed. The Phase B Advanced Development hardware program is summarized and a status of Phase B preliminary tradeoff studies is presented.

Apollo Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Hardware Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Interbartolo, Michael

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews basic guidance, navigation and control (GNC) concepts, examines the Command and Service Module (CSM) and Lunar Module (LM) GNC organization and discusses the primary GNC and the CSM Stabilization and Control System (SCS), as well as other CSM-specific hardware. The LM Abort Guidance System (AGS), Control Electronics System (CES) and other LM-specific hardware are also addressed. Three subsystems exist on each vehicle: the computer subsystem (CSS), the inertial subsystem (ISS) and the optical subsystem (OSS). The CSS and ISS are almost identical between CSM and LM and each is designed to operate independently. CSM SCS hardware are highlighted, including translation control, rotation controls, gyro assemblies, a gyro display coupler and flight director attitude indicators. The LM AGS hardware are also highlighted and include the abort electronics assembly and the abort sensor assembly; while the LM CES hardware includes the attitude controller assembly, thrust/translation controller assemblies and the ascent engine arming assemble. Other common hardware including the Orbital Rate Display - Earth and Lunar (ORDEAL) and the Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS), a docking aid, are also highlighted.

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) encoder handbook for Aydin Vector MMP-900 series system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raphael, David

1995-01-01

This handbook explicates the hardware and software properties of a time division multiplex system. This system is used to sample analog and digital data. The data is then merged with frame synchronization information to produce a serial pulse coded modulation (PCM) bit stream. Information in this handbook is required by users to design congruous interface and attest effective utilization of this encoder system. Aydin Vector provides all of the components for these systems to Goddard Space Flight Center/Wallops Flight Facility.

Williams with TVIS hardware in Zvezda Service module

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-02-27

ISS014-E-15349 (27 Feb. 2007) --- Assisted by the weightlessness of space, astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, hoists the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS). She took a moment to pose for a photo during routine in-flight maintenance (IFM) on TVIS in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

NASA's Space Launch System Program Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

May, Todd; Lyles, Garry

2015-01-01

Hardware and software for the world's most powerful launch vehicle for exploration is being welded, assembled, and tested today in high bays, clean rooms and test stands across the United States. NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) continued to make significant progress in the past year, including firing tests of both main propulsion elements, manufacturing of flight hardware, and the program Critical Design Review (CDR). Developed with the goals of safety, affordability, and sustainability, SLS will deliver unmatched capability for human and robotic exploration. The initial Block 1 configuration will deliver more than 70 metric tons (t) (154,000 pounds) of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO). The evolved Block 2 design will deliver some 130 t (286,000 pounds) to LEO. Both designs offer enormous opportunity and flexibility for larger payloads, simplifying payload design as well as ground and on-orbit operations, shortening interplanetary transit times, and decreasing overall mission risk. Over the past year, every vehicle element has manufactured or tested hardware, including flight hardware for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). This paper will provide an overview of the progress made over the past year and provide a glimpse of upcoming milestones on the way to a 2018 launch readiness date.

Space Shuttle Projects Overview to Columbia Air Forces War College

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singer, Jody; McCool, Alex (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This paper presents, in viewgraph form, a general overview of space shuttle projects. Some of the topics include: 1) Space Shuttle Projects; 2) Marshall Space Flight Center Space Shuttle Projects Office; 3) Space Shuttle Propulsion systems; 4) Space Shuttle Program Major Sites; 5) NASA Office of Space flight (OSF) Center Roles in Space Shuttle Program; 6) Space Shuttle Hardware Flow; and 7) Shuttle Flights To Date.

Fuel Subsystems Flight Test Handbook

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

described in Flight and Maintenance Manuals and as it exists in hardware form. These versions may differ significantly in the development phase of a new ...Canter (AFFPTC), Edwards AFB, California. The work was done under the authority of the Study Plan for Development of a Handbook for Aircraft Fuel...10 Position of AFFTC in the Development and 10 Evaluation Process Agencies Involved 11 Multi-Purpose Flight Tests 11 FUEL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS AND

The Ruggedized STD Bus Microcomputer - A low cost computer suitable for Space Shuttle experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Budney, T. J.; Stone, R. W.

1982-01-01

Previous space flight computers have been costly in terms of both hardware and software. The Ruggedized STD Bus Microcomputer is based on the commercial Mostek/Pro-Log STD Bus. Ruggedized PC cards can be based on commercial cards from more than 60 manufacturers, reducing hardware cost and design time. Software costs are minimized by using standard 8-bit microprocessors and by debugging code using commercial versions of the ruggedized flight boards while the flight hardware is being fabricated.

Space shuttle solid rocket booster cost-per-flight analysis technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forney, J. A.

1979-01-01

A cost per flight computer model is described which considers: traffic model, component attrition, hardware useful life, turnaround time for refurbishment, manufacturing rates, learning curves on the time to perform tasks, cost improvement curves on quantity hardware buys, inflation, spares philosophy, long lead, hardware funding requirements, and other logistics and scheduling constraints. Additional uses of the model include assessing the cost per flight impact of changing major space shuttle program parameters and searching for opportunities to make cost effective management decisions.

Design considerations for space flight hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glover, Daniel

1990-01-01

The environmental and design constraints are reviewed along with some insight into the established design and quality assurance practices that apply to low earth orbit (LEO) space flight hardware. It is intended as an introduction for people unfamiliar with space flight considerations. Some basic data and a bibliography are included.

A Representative Shuttle Environmental Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brose, H. F.; Stanley, M. D.; Leblanc, J. C.

1977-01-01

The Representative Shuttle Environmental Control System (RSECS) provides a ground test bed to be used in the early accumulation of component and system operating data, the evaluation of potential system improvements, and possibly the analysis of Shuttle Orbiter test and flight anomalies. Selected components are being subjected to long term tests to determine endurance and corrosion resistance capability prior to Orbiter vehicle experience. Component and system level tests in several cases are being used to support flight certification of Orbiter hardware. These activities are conducted as a development program to allow for timeliness, flexibility, and cost effectiveness not possible in a program burdened by flight documentation and monitoring constraints.

National Voice Response System (VRS) Implementation Plan Alternatives Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-07-01

This study examines the alternatives available to implement a national Voice Response System (VRS) for automated preflight weather briefings and flight plan filing. Four major hardware configurations are discussed. A computerized analysis model was d...

New Ways Of Doing Business (NWODB) cost quantification analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamaker, Joseph W.; Rosmait, Russell L.

1992-01-01

The cost of designing, producing, and operating typical aerospace flight hardware is necessarily more expensive than most other human endeavors. Because of the more stringent environment of space, hardware designed to operate there will probably always be more expensive than similar hardware which is designed for less taxing environments. It is the thesis of this study that there are very significant improvements that can be made in the cost of aerospace flight hardware.

Preflight and In-Flight Exercise Conditions for Astronauts on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guilliams, Mark E.; Nieschwitz, Bruce; Hoellen, David; Loehr, Jim

2011-01-01

The physiological demands of spaceflight require astronauts to have certain physical abilities. They must be able to perform routine and off-nominal physical work during flight and upon re-entry into a gravity environment to ensure mission success, such as an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) or emergency egress. To prepare the astronauts for their mission, a Wyle Astronaut Strength Conditioning and Rehabilitation specialist (ASCR) works individually with the astronauts to prescribe preflight strength and conditioning programs and in-flight exercise, utilizing Countermeasure Systems (CMS) exercise hardware. PURPOSE: To describe the preflight and in-flight exercise programs for ISS crewmembers. METHODS: Approximately 2 years before a scheduled launch, an ASCR is assigned to each astronaut and physical training (PT) is routinely scheduled. Preflight PT of astronauts consists of carrying out strength, aerobic and general conditioning, employing the principles of periodization. Exercise programs are prescribed to the astronauts to account for their individual fitness levels, planned mission-specific tasks, areas of concern, and travel schedules. Additionally, astronauts receive instruction on how to operate CMS exercise hardware and receive training for microgravity-specific conditions. For example, astronauts are scheduled training sessions for the International Space Station (ISS) treadmill (TVIS) and cycle ergometer (CEVIS), as well as the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). In-flight programs are designed to maintain or even improve the astronauts pre-flight levels of fitness, bone health, muscle strength, power and aerobic capacity. In-flight countermeasure sessions are scheduled in 2.5 h blocks, six days a week, which includes 1.5 h for resistive training and 1 h for aerobic exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Crewmembers reported the need for more scheduled time for preflight training. During flight, crewmembers have indicated that the in-flight exercise is sufficient, but would like more reliable and capable hardware.

PTS performance by flight- and control-group macaques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washburn, D. A.; Rumbaugh, D. M.; Richardson, W. K.; Gulledge, J. P.; Shlyk, G. G.; Vasilieva, O. N.

2000-01-01

A total of 25 young monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained with the Psychomotor Test System, a package of software tasks and computer hardware developed for spaceflight research with nonhuman primates. Two flight monkeys and two control monkeys were selected from this pool and performed a psychomotor task before and after the Bion 11 flight or a ground-control period. Monkeys from both groups showed significant disruption in performance after the 14-day flight or simulation (plus one anesthetized day of biopsies and other tests), and this disruption appeared to be magnified for the flight animal.

An application of the Multi-Purpose System Simulation /MPSS/ model to the Monitor and Control Display System /MACDS/ at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration /NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center /GSFC/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mill, F. W.; Krebs, G. N.; Strauss, E. S.

1976-01-01

The Multi-Purpose System Simulator (MPSS) model was used to investigate the current and projected performance of the Monitor and Control Display System (MACDS) at the Goddard Space Flight Center in processing and displaying launch data adequately. MACDS consists of two interconnected mini-computers with associated terminal input and display output equipment and a disk-stored data base. Three configurations of MACDS were evaluated via MPSS and their performances ascertained. First, the current version of MACDS was found inadequate to handle projected launch data loads because of unacceptable data backlogging. Second, the current MACDS hardware with enhanced software was capable of handling two times the anticipated data loads. Third, an up-graded hardware ensemble combined with the enhanced software was capable of handling four times the anticipated data loads.

IAPSA 2 small-scale system specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, Gerald C.; Torkelson, Thomas C.

1990-01-01

The details of a hardware implementation of a representative small scale flight critical system is described using Advanced Information Processing System (AIPS) building block components and simulated sensor/actuator interfaces. The system was used to study application performance and reliability issues during both normal and faulted operation.

A lightweight, inexpensive robotic system for insect vision.

PubMed

Sabo, Chelsea; Chisholm, Robert; Petterson, Adam; Cope, Alex

2017-09-01

Designing hardware for miniaturized robotics which mimics the capabilities of flying insects is of interest, because they share similar constraints (i.e. small size, low weight, and low energy consumption). Research in this area aims to enable robots with similarly efficient flight and cognitive abilities. Visual processing is important to flying insects' impressive flight capabilities, but currently, embodiment of insect-like visual systems is limited by the hardware systems available. Suitable hardware is either prohibitively expensive, difficult to reproduce, cannot accurately simulate insect vision characteristics, and/or is too heavy for small robotic platforms. These limitations hamper the development of platforms for embodiment which in turn hampers the progress on understanding of how biological systems fundamentally work. To address this gap, this paper proposes an inexpensive, lightweight robotic system for modelling insect vision. The system is mounted and tested on a robotic platform for mobile applications, and then the camera and insect vision models are evaluated. We analyse the potential of the system for use in embodiment of higher-level visual processes (i.e. motion detection) and also for development of navigation based on vision for robotics in general. Optic flow from sample camera data is calculated and compared to a perfect, simulated bee world showing an excellent resemblance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Mission planning and simulation via intelligent agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gargan, Robert A., Jr.; Tilley, Randall W.

1987-01-01

A system that can operate from a flight manifest to plan and simulate payload preparation and transport via Shuttle flights is described. The design alternatives and the prototype implementation of the payload hardware and inventory tracking system are discussed. It is shown how intelligent agents can be used to generate mission schedules, and how, through the use of these intelligent agents, knowledge becomes separated into small manageable knowledge bases.

Flight performance of Skylab attitude and pointing control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chubb, W. B.; Kennel, H. F.; Rupp, C. C.; Seltzer, S. M.

1975-01-01

The Skylab attitude and pointing control system (APCS) requirements are briefly reviewed and the way in which they became altered during the prelaunch phase of development is noted. The actual flight mission (including mission alterations during flight) is described. The serious hardware failures that occurred, beginning during ascent through the atmosphere, also are described. The APCS's ability to overcome these failures and meet mission changes are presented. The large around-the-clock support effort on the ground is discussed. Salient design points and software flexibility that should afford pertinent experience for future spacecraft attitude and pointing control system designs are included.

Issues Related to Large Flight Hardware Acoustic Qualification Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolaini, Ali R.; Perry, Douglas C.; Kern, Dennis L.

2011-01-01

The characteristics of acoustical testing volumes generated by reverberant chambers or a circle of loudspeakers with and without large flight hardware within the testing volume are significantly different. The parameters attributing to these differences are normally not accounted for through analysis or acoustic tests prior to the qualification testing without the test hardware present. In most cases the control microphones are kept at least 2-ft away from hardware surfaces, chamber walls, and speaker surfaces to minimize the impact of the hardware in controlling the sound field. However, the acoustic absorption and radiation of sound by hardware surfaces may significantly alter the sound pressure field controlled within the chamber/speaker volume to a given specification. These parameters often result in an acoustic field that may provide under/over testing scenarios for flight hardware. In this paper the acoustic absorption by hardware surfaces will be discussed in some detail. A simple model is provided to account for some of the observations made from Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft that recently underwent acoustic qualification tests in a reverberant chamber.

Ares I-X Flight Test--The Future Begins Here

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephan R.; Robinson, Kimberly F.

2008-01-01

In less than one year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch the Ares I-X mission. This will be the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, which, together with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, will send humans to the Moon and beyond. Personnel from the Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) are finalizing designs and fabricating vehicle hardware for a 2009 launch. Ares I-X will be a suborbital development flight test that will gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack; understand how to control its roll during flight; better characterize the severe stage separation environments that the upper stage engine will experience during future flights; and demonstrate the first stage recovery system. NASA also will modify the launch infrastructure and ground and mission operations. The Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle (FTV) will incorporate flight and mockup hardware similar in mass and weight to the operational vehicle. It will be powered by a four-segment Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which is currently in Shuttle inventory, and will include a fifth spacer segment and new forward structures to make the booster approximately the same size and weight as the five-segment SRB. The Ares I-X flight profile will closely approximate the flight conditions that the Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, up to approximately 130,000 feet (39,600 meters (m)) and through maximum dynamic pressure ('Max Q') of approximately 800 pounds per square foot (38.3 kilopascals (kPa)). Data from the Ares I-X flight will support the Ares I Critical Design Review (CDR), scheduled for 2010. Work continues on Ares I-X design and hardware fabrication. All of the individual elements are undergoing CDRs, followed by a two-part integrated vehicle CDR in March and July 2008. The various hardware elements are on schedule to begin deliveries to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in early September 2008. Ares I-X is the first step in the long journey to the Moon and farther destinations. This suborbital test will be NASA's first flight of a new human-rated launch vehicle in more than a generation. This promises to be an exciting time for NASA and the nation, as we reach for new goals in space exploration. A visual presentation is included.

Unmanned powered balloons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korn, A. O.

1975-01-01

In the late 1960's several governmental agencies sponsored efforts to develop unmanned, powered balloon systems for scientific experimentation and military operations. Some of the programs resulted in hardware and limited flight tests; others, to date, have not progressed beyond the paper study stage. Balloon system designs, materials, propulsion units and capabilities are briefly described, and critical problem areas are pointed out which require further study in order to achieve operational powered balloon systems capable of long duration flight at high altitudes.

Physics of Colloids in Space--Plus (PCS+) Experiment Completed Flight Acceptance Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doherty, Michael P.

2004-01-01

The Physics of Colloids in Space--Plus (PCS+) experiment successfully completed system-level flight acceptance testing in the fall of 2003. This testing included electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing, vibration testing, and thermal testing. PCS+, an Expedite the Process of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack payload will deploy a second set of colloid samples within the PCS flight hardware system that flew on the International Space Station (ISS) from April 2001 to June 2002. PCS+ is slated to return to the ISS in late 2004 or early 2005.

CASIS Fact Sheet: Hardware and Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, Michael R.; Romero, Vergel

2016-01-01

Vencore is a proven information solutions, engineering, and analytics company that helps our customers solve their most complex challenges. For more than 40 years, we have designed, developed and delivered mission-critical solutions as our customers' trusted partner. The Engineering Services Contract, or ESC, provides engineering and design services to the NASA organizations engaged in development of new technologies at the Kennedy Space Center. Vencore is the ESC prime contractor, with teammates that include Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Sierra Lobo, Nelson Engineering, EASi, and Craig Technologies. The Vencore team designs and develops systems and equipment to be used for the processing of space launch vehicles, spacecraft, and payloads. We perform flight systems engineering for spaceflight hardware and software; develop technologies that serve NASA's mission requirements and operations needs for the future. Our Flight Payload Support (FPS) team at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) provides engineering, development, and certification services as well as payload integration and management services to NASA and commercial customers. Our main objective is to assist principal investigators (PIs) integrate their science experiments into payload hardware for research aboard the International Space Station (ISS), commercial spacecraft, suborbital vehicles, parabolic flight aircrafts, and ground-based studies. Vencore's FPS team is AS9100 certified and a recognized implementation partner for the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS

Aerial View: SLS Intertank Arrives at Marshall for Critical Structural Testing

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-03-08

A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System, arrives at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, March 4, aboard the barge Pegasus. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the massive SLS core stage built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans delivered to Marshall for testing. The structural test article will undergo critical testing as engineers push, pull and bend the hardware with millions of pounds of force to ensure it can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The test hardware is structurally identical to the flight version of the intertank that will connect the core stage's two colossal propellant tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house critical avionics and electronics. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the flight core stage from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launch.

The Application of Acoustic Measurements and Audio Recordings for Diagnosis of In-Flight Hardware Anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welsh, David; Denham, Samuel; Allen, Christopher

2011-01-01

In many cases, an initial symptom of hardware malfunction is unusual or unexpected acoustic noise. Many industries such as automotive, heating and air conditioning, and petro-chemical processing use noise and vibration data along with rotating machinery analysis techniques to identify noise sources and correct hardware defects. The NASA/Johnson Space Center Acoustics Office monitors the acoustic environment of the International Space Station (ISS) through periodic sound level measurement surveys. Trending of the sound level measurement survey results can identify in-flight hardware anomalies. The crew of the ISS also serves as a "detection tool" in identifying unusual hardware noises; in these cases the spectral analysis of audio recordings made on orbit can be used to identify hardware defects that are related to rotating components such as fans, pumps, and compressors. In this paper, three examples of the use of sound level measurements and audio recordings for the diagnosis of in-flight hardware anomalies are discussed: identification of blocked inter-module ventilation (IMV) ducts, diagnosis of abnormal ISS Crew Quarters rack exhaust fan noise, and the identification and replacement of a defective flywheel assembly in the Treadmill with Vibration Isolation (TVIS) hardware. In each of these examples, crew time was saved by identifying the off nominal component or condition that existed and in directing in-flight maintenance activities to address and correct each of these problems.

Flight experience with lightweight, low-power miniaturized instrumentation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamory, Philip J.; Murray, James E.

1992-01-01

Engineers at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility (NASA-Dryden) have conducted two flight research programs with lightweight, low-power miniaturized instrumentation systems built around commercial data loggers. One program quantified the performance of a radio-controlled model airplane. The other program was a laminar boundary-layer transition experiment on a manned sailplane. The purpose of this paper is to report NASA-Dryden personnel's flight experience with the miniaturized instrumentation systems used on these two programs. The paper will describe the data loggers, the sensors, and the hardware and software developed to complete the systems. The paper also describes how the systems were used and covers the challenges encountered to make them work. Examples of raw data and derived results will be shown as well. Finally, future plans for these systems will be discussed.

Development of Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Based on Gazebo and Pixhawk for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Khoa Dang; Ha, Cheolkeun

2018-04-01

Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) is well known as an effective approach in the design of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) systems, enabling engineers to test the control algorithm on a hardware board with a UAV model on the software. Performance of HILS is determined by performances of the control algorithm, the developed model, and the signal transfer between the hardware and software. The result of HILS is degraded if any signal could not be transferred to the correct destination. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a middleware software to secure communications in HILS system for testing the operation of a quad-rotor UAV. In our HILS, the Gazebo software is used to generate a nonlinear six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) model, sensor model, and 3D visualization for the quad-rotor UAV. Meanwhile, the flight control algorithm is designed and implemented on the Pixhawk hardware. New middleware software, referred to as the control application software (CAS), is proposed to ensure the connection and data transfer between Gazebo and Pixhawk using the multithread structure in Qt Creator. The CAS provides a graphical user interface (GUI), allowing the user to monitor the status of packet transfer, and perform the flight control commands and the real-time tuning parameters for the quad-rotor UAV. Numerical implementations have been performed to prove the effectiveness of the middleware software CAS suggested in this paper.

Communications Support for National Flight Data Center Information System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

funtions : 0 Establishment and termination, * Message transfer, 0 Retransmission of blocks, Establishment and Termination: the establishment procedure...relate to hardware components, transmission facilities and cost relationships . The costs are grouped into one-time and recurring costs. L.2 HARDWARE...the NADIN switching center in Atlanta. The purchase and installation costs are estimated to be $1000. L.4 COST RELATIONSHIPS In order to accurately

Approximation of Engine Casing Temperature Constraints for Casing Mounted Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kratz, Jonathan L.; Culley, Dennis E.; Chapman, Jeffryes W.

2017-01-01

The performance of propulsion engine systems is sensitive to weight and volume considerations. This can severely constrain the configuration and complexity of the control system hardware. Distributed Engine Control technology is a response to these concerns by providing more flexibility in designing the control system, and by extension, more functionality leading to higher performing engine systems. Consequently, there can be a weight benefit to mounting modular electronic hardware on the engine core casing in a high temperature environment. This paper attempts to quantify the in-flight temperature constraints for engine casing mounted electronics. In addition, an attempt is made at studying heat soak back effects. The Commercial Modular Aero Propulsion System Simulation 40k (C-MAPSS40k) software is leveraged with real flight data as the inputs to the simulation. A two-dimensional (2-D) heat transfer model is integrated with the engine simulation to approximate the temperature along the length of the engine casing. This modification to the existing C-MAPSS40k software will provide tools and methodologies to develop a better understanding of the requirements for the embedded electronics hardware in future engine systems. Results of the simulations are presented and their implications on temperature constraints for engine casing mounted electronics is discussed.

Approximation of Engine Casing Temperature Constraints for Casing Mounted Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kratz, Jonathan; Culley, Dennis; Chapman, Jeffryes

2016-01-01

The performance of propulsion engine systems is sensitive to weight and volume considerations. This can severely constrain the configuration and complexity of the control system hardware. Distributed Engine Control technology is a response to these concerns by providing more flexibility in designing the control system, and by extension, more functionality leading to higher performing engine systems. Consequently, there can be a weight benefit to mounting modular electronic hardware on the engine core casing in a high temperature environment. This paper attempts to quantify the in-flight temperature constraints for engine casing mounted electronics. In addition, an attempt is made at studying heat soak back effects. The Commercial Modular Aero Propulsion System Simulation 40k (C-MAPSS40k) software is leveraged with real flight data as the inputs to the simulation. A two-dimensional (2-D) heat transfer model is integrated with the engine simulation to approximate the temperature along the length of the engine casing. This modification to the existing C-MAPSS40k software will provide tools and methodologies to develop a better understanding of the requirements for the embedded electronics hardware in future engine systems. Results of the simulations are presented and their implications on temperature constraints for engine casing mounted electronics is discussed.

Software Reliability Analysis of NASA Space Flight Software: A Practical Experience

PubMed Central

Sukhwani, Harish; Alonso, Javier; Trivedi, Kishor S.; Mcginnis, Issac

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present the software reliability analysis of the flight software of a recently launched space mission. For our analysis, we use the defect reports collected during the flight software development. We find that this software was developed in multiple releases, each release spanning across all software life-cycle phases. We also find that the software releases were developed and tested for four different hardware platforms, spanning from off-the-shelf or emulation hardware to actual flight hardware. For releases that exhibit reliability growth or decay, we fit Software Reliability Growth Models (SRGM); otherwise we fit a distribution function. We find that most releases exhibit reliability growth, with Log-Logistic (NHPP) and S-Shaped (NHPP) as the best-fit SRGMs. For the releases that experience reliability decay, we investigate the causes for the same. We find that such releases were the first software releases to be tested on a new hardware platform, and hence they encountered major hardware integration issues. Also such releases seem to have been developed under time pressure in order to start testing on the new hardware platform sooner. Such releases exhibit poor reliability growth, and hence exhibit high predicted failure rate. Other problems include hardware specification changes and delivery delays from vendors. Thus, our analysis provides critical insights and inputs to the management to improve the software development process. As NASA has moved towards a product line engineering for its flight software development, software for future space missions will be developed in a similar manner and hence the analysis results for this mission can be considered as a baseline for future flight software missions. PMID:29278255

Software Reliability Analysis of NASA Space Flight Software: A Practical Experience.

PubMed

Sukhwani, Harish; Alonso, Javier; Trivedi, Kishor S; Mcginnis, Issac

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present the software reliability analysis of the flight software of a recently launched space mission. For our analysis, we use the defect reports collected during the flight software development. We find that this software was developed in multiple releases, each release spanning across all software life-cycle phases. We also find that the software releases were developed and tested for four different hardware platforms, spanning from off-the-shelf or emulation hardware to actual flight hardware. For releases that exhibit reliability growth or decay, we fit Software Reliability Growth Models (SRGM); otherwise we fit a distribution function. We find that most releases exhibit reliability growth, with Log-Logistic (NHPP) and S-Shaped (NHPP) as the best-fit SRGMs. For the releases that experience reliability decay, we investigate the causes for the same. We find that such releases were the first software releases to be tested on a new hardware platform, and hence they encountered major hardware integration issues. Also such releases seem to have been developed under time pressure in order to start testing on the new hardware platform sooner. Such releases exhibit poor reliability growth, and hence exhibit high predicted failure rate. Other problems include hardware specification changes and delivery delays from vendors. Thus, our analysis provides critical insights and inputs to the management to improve the software development process. As NASA has moved towards a product line engineering for its flight software development, software for future space missions will be developed in a similar manner and hence the analysis results for this mission can be considered as a baseline for future flight software missions.

Advanced software techniques for data management systems. Volume 1: Study of software aspects of the phase B space shuttle avionics system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, F. H.

1972-01-01

An overview of the executive system design task is presented. The flight software executive system, software verification, phase B baseline avionics system review, higher order languages and compilers, and computer hardware features are also discussed.

Achieving Operability via the Mission System Paradigm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hammer, Fred J.; Kahr, Joseph R.

2006-01-01

In the past, flight and ground systems have been developed largely-independently, with the flight system taking the lead, and dominating the development process. Operability issues have been addressed poorly in planning, requirements, design, I&T, and system-contracting activities. In many cases, as documented in lessons-learned, this has resulted in significant avoidable increases in cost and risk. With complex missions and systems, operability is being recognized as an important end-to-end design issue. Never-the-less, lessons-learned and operability concepts remain, in many cases, poorly understood and sporadically applied. A key to effective application of operability concepts is adopting a 'mission system' paradigm. In this paradigm, flight and ground systems are treated, from an engineering and management perspective, as inter-related elements of a larger mission system. The mission system consists of flight hardware, flight software, telecom services, ground data system, testbeds, flight teams, science teams, flight operations processes, procedures, and facilities. The system is designed in functional layers, which span flight and ground. It is designed in response to project-level requirements, mission design and an operations concept, and is developed incrementally, with early and frequent integration of flight and ground components.

Postflight hardware evaluation 360T026 (RSRM-26, STS-47)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nielson, Greg

1993-01-01

The final report for the Clearfield disassembly evaluation and a continuation of the KSC postflight assessment for the 360T026 (STS-47) Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) flight set is provided. All observed hardware conditions were documented on PFOR's and are included in Appendices A, B, and C. Appendices D and E contain the measurements and safety factor data for the nozzle and insulation components. This report, along with the KSC Ten-Day Postflight Hardware Evaluation Report (TWR-64203), represents a summary of the 360T026 hardware evaluation. The as-flown hardware configuration is documented in TWR-60472. Disassembly evaluation photograph numbers are logged in TWA-1987. The 360T026 flight set disassembly evaluations described were performed at the RSRM Refurbishment Facility in Clearfield, Utah. The final factory joint demate occurred on 12 April 1993. Detailed evaluations were performed in accordance with the Clearfield Postflight Engineering Evaluation Plan (PEEP), TWR-50051, Revision A. All observations were compared against limits that are also defined in the PEEP. These limits outline the criteria for categorizing the observations as acceptable, reportable, or critical. Hardware conditions that were unexpected and/or determined to be reportable or critical were evaluated by the applicable CPT and tracked through the PFAR system.

V/STOLAND avionics system flight-test data on a UH-1H helicopter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, F. A.; Jaynes, D. N.; Corliss, L. D.; Liden, S.; Merrick, R. B.; Dugan, D. C.

1980-01-01

The flight-acceptance test results obtained during the acceptance tests of the V/STOLAND (versatile simplex digital avionics system) digital avionics system on a Bell UH-1H helicopter in 1977 at Ames Research Center are presented. The system provides navigation, guidance, control, and display functions for NASA terminal area VTOL research programs and for the Army handling qualities research programs at Ames Research Center. The acceptance test verified system performance and contractual acceptability. The V/STOLAND hardware navigation, guidance, and control laws resident in the digital computers are described. Typical flight-test data are shown and discussed as documentation of the system performance at acceptance from the contractor.

iss028e035566

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-31

ISS028-E-035566 (31 Aug. 2011) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Expedition 28 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System (MARES) hardware in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

iss028e035603

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-31

ISS028-E-035603 (31 Aug. 2011) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Expedition 28 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System (MARES) hardware in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

iss028e035301

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-31

ISS028-E-035301 (31 Aug. 2011) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Expedition 28 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System (MARES) hardware in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

The Max Launch Abort System - Concept, Flight Test, and Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Michael G.

2014-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is an independent engineering analysis and test organization providing support across the range of NASA programs. In 2007 NASA was developing the launch escape system for the Orion spacecraft that was evolved from the traditional tower-configuration escape systems used for the historic Mercury and Apollo spacecraft. The NESC was tasked, as a programmatic risk-reduction effort to develop and flight test an alternative to the Orion baseline escape system concept. This project became known as the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS), named in honor of Maxime Faget, the developer of the original Mercury escape system. Over the course of approximately two years the NESC performed conceptual and tradeoff analyses, designed and built full-scale flight test hardware, and conducted a flight test demonstration in July 2009. Since the flight test, the NESC has continued to further develop and refine the MLAS concept.

Lessons Learned during Thermal Hardware Integration on the Global Precipitation Measurement Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cottingham, Christine; Dwivedi, Vivek H.; Peters, Carlton; Powers, Daniel; Yang, Kan

2012-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission is a joint NASA/JAXA mission scheduled for launch in late 2013. The integration of thermal hardware onto the satellite began in the Fall of 2010 and will continue through the Summer of 2012. The thermal hardware on the mission included several constant conductance heat pipes, heaters, thermostats, thermocouples radiator coatings and blankets. During integration several problems arose and insights were gained that would help future satellite integrations. Also lessons learned from previous missions were implemented with varying degrees of success. These insights can be arranged into three categories. 1) the specification of flight hardware using analysis results and the available mechanical resources. 2) The integration of thermal flight hardware onto the spacecraft, 3) The preparation and implementation of testing the thermal flight via touch tests, resistance measurements and thermal vacuum testing.

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) - Evolution and Lessons Learned During the Shuttle Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kanner, Howard S.; Freeland, Donna M.; Olson, Derek T.; Wood, T. David; Vaccaro, Mark V.

2011-01-01

The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Obsolescence issues occasionally required component recertification. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems was a unique process and acceptance testing of reused hardware components was required for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.

A Flight Dynamics Perspective of the Orion Pad Abort One Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idicula, Jinu; Williams-Hayes, Peggy S.; Stillwater, Ryan; Yates, Max

2009-01-01

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is America s next generation of human rated spacecraft. The Orion Launch Abort System will take the astronauts away from the exploration vehicle in the event of an aborted launch. The pad abort mode of the Launch Abort System will be flight-tested in 2009 from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This paper examines some of the efforts currently underway at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center by the Controls & Dynamics group in preparation for the flight test. The concept of operation for the pad abort flight is presented along with an overview of the guidance, control and navigation systems. Preparations for the flight test, such as hardware testing and development of the real-time displays, are examined. The results from the validation and verification efforts for the aerodynamic and atmospheric models are shown along with Monte Carlo analysis results.

2nd Generation QUATARA Flight Computer Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falker, Jay; Keys, Andrew; Fraticelli, Jose Molina; Capo-Iugo, Pedro; Peeples, Steven

2015-01-01

Single core flight computer boards have been designed, developed, and tested (DD&T) to be flown in small satellites for the last few years. In this project, a prototype flight computer will be designed as a distributed multi-core system containing four microprocessors running code in parallel. This flight computer will be capable of performing multiple computationally intensive tasks such as processing digital and/or analog data, controlling actuator systems, managing cameras, operating robotic manipulators and transmitting/receiving from/to a ground station. In addition, this flight computer will be designed to be fault tolerant by creating both a robust physical hardware connection and by using a software voting scheme to determine the processor's performance. This voting scheme will leverage on the work done for the Space Launch System (SLS) flight software. The prototype flight computer will be constructed with Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components which are estimated to survive for two years in a low-Earth orbit.

Preloaded joint analysis methodology for space flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chambers, Jeffrey A.

1995-01-01

This report contains a compilation of some of the most basic equations governing simple preloaded joint systems and discusses the more common modes of failure associated with such hardware. It is intended to provide the mechanical designer with the tools necessary for designing a basic bolted joint. Although the information presented is intended to aid in the engineering of space flight structures, the fundamentals are equally applicable to other forms of mechanical design.

Flight evaluation of a pneumatic system for unsteady pressure measurements using conventional sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curry, Robert E.; Gilyard, Glenn B.

1989-01-01

A flight experiment was conducted to evaluate a pressure measurement system which uses pneumatic tubing and remotely located electronically scanned pressure transducer modules for in-flight unsteady aerodynamic studies. A parametric study of tubing length and diameter on the attenuation and lag of the measured signals was conducted. The hardware was found to operate satisfactorily at rates of up to 500 samples/sec per port in flight. The signal attenuation and lag due to tubing were shown to increase with tubing length, decrease with tubing diameter, and increase with altitude over the ranges tested. Measurable signal levels were obtained for even the longest tubing length tested, 4 ft, at frequencies up to 100 Hz. This instrumentation system approach provides a practical means of conducting detailed unsteady pressure surveys in flight.

Flight evaluation of a digital electronic engine control system in an F-15 airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, L. P.; Mackall, K. G.; Burcham, F. W., Jr.; Walter, W. A.

1982-01-01

Benefits provided by a full-authority digital engine control are related to improvements in engine efficiency, performance, and operations. An additional benefit is the capability of detecting and accommodating failures in real time and providing engine-health diagnostics. The digital electronic engine control (DEEC), is a full-authority digital engine control developed for the F100-PW-100 turbofan engine. The DEEC has been flight tested on an F-15 aircraft. The flight tests had the objective to evaluate the DEEC hardware and software over the F-15 flight envelope. A description is presented of the results of the flight tests, which consisted of nonaugmented and augmented throttle transients, airstarts, and backup control operations. The aircraft, engine, DEEC system, and data acquisition and reduction system are discussed.

Potable water supply in U.S. manned space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauer, Richard L.; Straub, John E., II

1992-01-01

A historical review of potable water supply systems used in the U.S. manned flight program is presented. This review provides a general understanding of the unusual challenges these systems have presented to the designers and operators of the related flight hardware. The presentation concludes with the projection of how water supply should be provided in future space missions - extended duration earth-orbital and interplanetary missions and lunar and Mars habitation bases - and the challenges to the biomedical community that providing these systems can present.

NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight Rothenberg addresses guests at ribbon cutting for the

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight Joseph Rothenberg addresses attendees at a ribbon cutting for the new Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS) at the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF). The CLCS was declared operational in a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier. The new control room will be used to process the Orbital Maneuvering System pods and Forward Reaction Control System modules at the HMF. This hardware is removed from Space Shuttle orbiters and routinely taken to the HMF for checkout and servicing.

Hardware Specific Integration Strategy for Impedance-Based Structural Health Monitoring of Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Owen, Robert B.; Gyekenyesi, Andrew L.; Inman, Daniel J.; Ha, Dong S.

2011-01-01

The Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Project, sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, is conducting research to advance the state of highly integrated and complex flight-critical health management technologies and systems. An effective IVHM system requires Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). The impedance method is one such SHM technique for detection and monitoring complex structures for damage. This position paper on the impedance method presents the current state of the art, future directions, applications and possible flight test demonstrations.

Rapid fabrication of flight worthy composite parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jouin, Pierre H.; Heigl, John C.; Youtsey, Timothy L.

A 3D surfaced-model representation of aircraft composite structural components can be used to generate machining paths in a system which reduces paperwork and errors, and enhances accuracy and speed. Illustrative cases are presented for the use of such a system in the design and production of the Longbow radar housing, the fabrication of the flight test hardware for the 'no tail-rotor' helicopter control system, and the machining of a honeycomb core structure for a composite helicopter rotor blade.

Satellite services system analysis study: Propellant transfer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

General servicing requirements, a servicing mission concept and scenario, overall servicing needs, basic servicing equipment, and a general servicing mission configuration layout are addressed. Servicing needs, equipment concepts, system requirements equipment specifications, preliminary designs, and resource requirements for flight hardware for the propellant transfer system are also addressed.

Spacelab 4: Primate experiment support hardware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fusco, P. R.; Peyran, R. J.

1984-05-01

A squirrel monkey feeder and automatic urine collection system were designed to fly on the Spacelab 4 Shuttle Mission presently scheduled for January 1986. Prototypes of the feeder and urine collection systems were fabricated and extensively tested on squirrel monkeys at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC). The feeder design minimizes impact on the monkey's limited space in the cage and features improved reliability and biocompatibility over previous systems. The urine collection system is the first flight qualified, automatic urine collection device for squirrel monkeys. Flight systems are currently being fabricated.

Spacelab 4: Primate experiment support hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fusco, P. R.; Peyran, R. J.

1984-01-01

A squirrel monkey feeder and automatic urine collection system were designed to fly on the Spacelab 4 Shuttle Mission presently scheduled for January 1986. Prototypes of the feeder and urine collection systems were fabricated and extensively tested on squirrel monkeys at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC). The feeder design minimizes impact on the monkey's limited space in the cage and features improved reliability and biocompatibility over previous systems. The urine collection system is the first flight qualified, automatic urine collection device for squirrel monkeys. Flight systems are currently being fabricated.

Performance of the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF) and General Purpose Work Station (GPWS) and other hardware in the microgravity environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogan, Robert P.; Dalton, Bonnie P.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the performance of the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF) and General Purpose Work Station (GPWS) plus other associated hardware during the recent flight of Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1). The RAHF was developed to provide proper housing (food, water, temperature control, lighting and waste management) for up to 24 rodents during flights on the Spacelab. The GPWS was designed to contain particulates and toxic chemicals generated during plant and animal handling and dissection/fixation activities during space flights. A history of the hardware development involves as well as the redesign activities prior to the actual flight are discussed.

Feasibility of using a knowledge-based system concept for in-flight primary flight display research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricks, Wendell R.

1991-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using knowledge-based systems architectures for inflight research of primary flight display information management issues. The feasibility relied on the ability to integrate knowledge-based systems with existing onboard aircraft systems. And, given the hardware and software platforms available, the feasibility also depended on the ability to use interpreted LISP software with the real time operation of the primary flight display. In addition to evaluating these feasibility issues, the study determined whether the software engineering advantages of knowledge-based systems found for this application in the earlier workstation study extended to the inflight research environment. To study these issues, two integrated knowledge-based systems were designed to control the primary flight display according to pre-existing specifications of an ongoing primary flight display information management research effort. These two systems were implemented to assess the feasibility and software engineering issues listed. Flight test results were successful in showing the feasibility of using knowledge-based systems inflight with actual aircraft data.

Marshall Space Flight Center ECLSS technology activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wieland, Paul

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs on Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) technology activities are presented. Topics covered include: analytical development; ECLSS modeling approach; example of water reclamation modeling needs; and hardware development and testing.

10 day flight performance of the plant generic bioprocessing apparatus (PGBA) plant growth facility aboard STS-77

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoehn, Alex; Chamberlain, Dale J.; Forsyth, Sasha W.; Hanna, David S.; Scovazzo, Paul; Horner, Michael B.; Stodieck, Louis S.; Todd, Paul; Heyenga, A. Gerard; Kliss, Mark H.; Bula, Raymond; Yetka, Robert

1997-01-01

PGBA, a plant growth facility developed for space flight biotechnology research, successfully grew a total of 30 plants in a closed, multi-crop chamber for 10 days aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-77). Artemisia annua, Catharanthus roseus, Pinus taeda, Spinacia oleracea and Trifolium repens were the five species studied during this mission. The primary mission objectives were to study the effects of microgravity for commercial and pharmaceutical production purposes. PGBA is a payload that represents a consortium of interests including BioServe Space Technologies (payload sponsor), NASA Ames Research Center (Controlled Ecological Life Support System, CELSS, Flight Program), Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), and industrial affiliates (spaceflight effects on plants and formation of plant products such as pharmaceuticals). Although BioServe is responsible for the flight hardware development and integration of PGBA, NASA Ames, WSCAR and industrial affiliates provide significant hardware subsystems and technical biological expertise support.

Shuttle free-flying teleoperator system experiment definition. Volume 3: program development requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The planning data are presented for subsequent phases of free-flying teleoperator program (FFTO) and includes costs, schedules and supporting research and technology activities required to implement the free-flying teleoperator system and associated flight equipment. The purpose of the data presented is to provide NASA with the information needed to continue development of the FFTO and integrate it into the space shuttle program. The planning data describes three major program phases consisting of activities and events scheduled to effect integrated design, development, fabrication and operation of an FFTO system. Phase A, Concept Generation, represents a study effort directed toward generating and evaluating a number of feasible FFTO experiment system concepts. Phase B, Definition, will include preliminary design and supporting analysis of the FFTO, the shuttle based equipment and ground support equipment. Phase C/D, Design, Development and Operations will include detail design of the operational FFTO, its integration into the space shuttle, hardware fabrication and testing, delivery of flight hardware and support of flight operations. Emphasis is placed on the planning for Phases A and B since these studies will be implemented early in the development cycle. Phase C/D planning is more general and subject to refinement during the definition phase.

The environmental control and life support system advanced automation project. Phase 1: Application evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dewberry, Brandon S.

1990-01-01

The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is a Freedom Station distributed system with inherent applicability to advanced automation primarily due to the comparatively large reaction times of its subsystem processes. This allows longer contemplation times in which to form a more intelligent control strategy and to detect or prevent faults. The objective of the ECLSS Advanced Automation Project is to reduce the flight and ground manpower needed to support the initial and evolutionary ECLS system. The approach is to search out and make apparent those processes in the baseline system which are in need of more automatic control and fault detection strategies, to influence the ECLSS design by suggesting software hooks and hardware scars which will allow easy adaptation to advanced algorithms, and to develop complex software prototypes which fit into the ECLSS software architecture and will be shown in an ECLSS hardware testbed to increase the autonomy of the system. Covered here are the preliminary investigation and evaluation process, aimed at searching the ECLSS for candidate functions for automation and providing a software hooks and hardware scars analysis. This analysis shows changes needed in the baselined system for easy accommodation of knowledge-based or other complex implementations which, when integrated in flight or ground sustaining engineering architectures, will produce a more autonomous and fault tolerant Environmental Control and Life Support System.

EVA 2 activity on Flight Day 5 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-15

STS082-742-047 (11-21 Feb. 1997) --- On Flight Day 5, astronaut Joseph R. Tanner (left) holds a 500 pound piece of hardware as he stands on the end of the Space Shuttle Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, as tethered astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh works nearby. The piano-shaped object held aloft by Tanner is actually the Fine Guidance Sensor 1 (FGS-1), which Tanner had just removed from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Harbaugh is inspecting the FGS' bay to set the stage for the two to insert the replacement hardware. EDITOR'S NOTE: For orientation purposes, the picture should be held with Space Shuttle's OMS pods at top.

KSC facilities status and planned management operations. [for Shuttle launches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, R. H.; Omalley, T. J.

1979-01-01

A status report is presented on facilities and planned operations at the Kennedy Space Center with reference to Space Shuttle launch activities. The facilities are essentially complete, with all new construction and modifications to existing buildings almost finished. Some activity is still in progress at Pad A and on the Mobile Launcher due to changes in requirements but is not expected to affect the launch schedule. The installation and testing of the ground checkout equipment that will be used to test the flight hardware is now in operation. The Launch Processing System is currently supporting the development of the applications software that will perform the testing of this flight hardware.

Satellite servicing mission preliminary cost estimation model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The cost model presented is a preliminary methodology for determining a rough order-of-magnitude cost for implementing a satellite servicing mission. Mission implementation, in this context, encompassess all activities associated with mission design and planning, including both flight and ground crew training and systems integration (payload processing) of servicing hardward with the Shuttle. A basic assumption made in developing this cost model is that a generic set of servicing hardware was developed and flight tested, is inventoried, and is maintained by NASA. This implies that all hardware physical and functional interfaces are well known and therefore recurring CITE testing is not required. The development of the cost model algorithms and examples of their use are discussed.

Micro- and Nano-Scale Electrically Driven Two-Phase Thermal Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Didion, Jeffrey R.

2016-01-01

This presentation discusses ground based proof of concept hardware under development at NASA GSFC to address high heat flux thermal management in silicon substrates. The goal is to develop proof of concept hardware for space flight validation. The space flight hardware will provide gravity insensitive thermal management for electronics applications such as transmit receive modules that are severely limited by thermal concerns.

Thermal/vacuum vs. thermal atmospheric testing of space flight electronic assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibbel, Mark

1990-01-01

For space flight hardware, the thermal vacuum environmental test is the best test of a system's flight worthiness. Substituting an atmospheric pressure thermal test for a thermal/vacuum test can effectively reduce piece part temperatures by 20 C or more, even for low power density designs. Similar reductions in test effectiveness can also result from improper assembly level T/V test boundary conditions. The net result of these changes may reduce the effective test temperatures to the point where there is zero or negative margin over the flight thermal environment.

In-Flight Lower Body Negative Pressure - Skylab Experiment M092

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

This chart details Skylab's In-Flight Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment facility, a medical evaluation designed to monitor changes in astronauts' cardiovascular systems during long-duration space missions. This experiment collected in-flight data for predicting the impairment of physical capacity and the degree of orthostatic intolerance to be expected upon return to Earth. Data to be collected were blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, vectorcardiogram, lower body negative pressure, leg volume changes, and body mass. The Marshall Space Flight Center had program management responsibility for the development of Skylab hardware and experiments.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the elevon subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, R. E.; Riccio, J. R.

1986-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. This report documents the independent analysis results for the Orbiter Elevon system hardware. The elevon actuators are located at the trailing edge of the wing surface. The proper function of the elevons is essential during the dynamic flight phases of ascent and entry. In the ascent phase of flight, the elevons are used for relieving high wing loads. For entry, the elevons are used to pitch and roll the vehicle. Specifically, the elevon system hardware comprises the following components: flow cutoff valve; switching valve; electro-hydraulic (EH) servoactuator; secondary delta pressure transducer; bypass valve; power valve; power valve check valve; primary actuator; primary delta pressure transducer; and primary actuator position transducer. Each level of hardware was evaluated and analyzed for possible failure modes and effects. Criticality was assigned based upon the severity of the effect for each failure mode. Of the 25 failure modes analyzed, 18 were determined to be PCIs.

X-37 Storable Propulsion System Design and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Henry; Popp, Chris; Rehagen, Ronald J.

2005-01-01

In a response to NASA's X-37 TA-10 Cycle-1 contract, Boeing assessed nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) and monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) Storable Propellant Propulsion Systems to select a low risk X-37 propulsion development approach. Space Shuttle lessons learned, planetary spacecraft, and Boeing Satellite HS-601 systems were reviewed to arrive at a low risk and reliable storable propulsion system. This paper describes the requirements, trade studies, design solutions, flight and ground operational issues which drove X-37 toward the selection of a storable propulsion system. The design of storable propulsion systems offers the leveraging of hardware experience that can accelerate progress toward critical design. It also involves the experience gained from launching systems using MMH and N2O4 propellants. Leveraging of previously flight-qualified hardware may offer economic benefits and may reduce risk in cost and schedule. This paper summarizes recommendations based on experience gained from Space Shuttle and similar propulsion systems utilizing MMH and N2O4 propellants. System design insights gained from flying storable propulsion are presented and addressed in the context of the design approach of the X-37 propulsion system.

X-37 Storable Propulsion System Design and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Henry; Popp, Chris; Rehegan, Ronald J.

2006-01-01

In a response to NASA's X-37 TA-10 Cycle-1 contract, Boeing assessed nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) and monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) Storable Propellant Propulsion Systems to select a low risk X-37 propulsion development approach. Space Shuttle lessons learned, planetary spacecraft, and Boeing Satellite HS-601 systems were reviewed to arrive at a low risk and reliable storable propulsion system. This paper describes the requirements, trade studies, design solutions, flight and ground operational issues which drove X-37 toward the selection of a storable propulsion system. The design of storable propulsion systems offers the leveraging of hardware experience that can accelerate progress toward critical design. It also involves the experience gained from launching systems using MMH and N2O4 propellants. Leveraging of previously flight-qualified hardware may offer economic benefits and may reduce risk in cost and schedule. This paper summarizes recommendations based on experience gained from Space Shuttle and similar propulsion systems utilizing MMH and N2O4 propellants. System design insights gained from flying storable propulsion are presented and addressed in the context of the design approach of the X-37 propulsion system.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014952 (16 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014934 (16 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014956 (16 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014930 (16 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014981 (17 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014973 (17 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

iss028e035617

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-31

ISS028-E-035617 (31 Aug. 2011) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, Expedition 28 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System (MARES) hardware in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

MARES Payload Installation

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-16

ISS024-E-014979 (17 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware during installation of MARES payload in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

OSIRIS-REx Visible And Infrared Spectrometer - OVIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hair, Jason

2016-01-01

Goddard Space Flight Center: Overall Instrument Responsibility; Instrument Scientist and Deputy Instrument Scientist; Management Systems Engineering; Mechanical Hardware; Harness Assemblies; SIDECAR Assembly Code; OVIRS Integration and Environmental Qualification; OVIRS Performance Testing, Calibration and Characterization.

Impact of flight systems integration on future aircraft design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hood, R. V.; Dollyhigh, S. M.; Newsom, J. R.

1984-01-01

Integrations trends in aircraft are discussed with an eye to manifestations in future aircraft designs through interdisciplinary technology integration. Current practices use software changes or small hardware fixes to solve problems late in the design process, e.g., low static stability to upgrade fuel efficiency. A total energy control system has been devised to integrate autopilot and autothrottle functions, thereby eliminating hardware, reducing the software, pilot workload, and cost, and improving flight efficiency and performance. Integrated active controls offer reduced weight and larger payloads for transport aircraft. The introduction of vectored thrust may eliminate horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and location of the thrust at the vehicle center of gravity can provide vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It is suggested that further efforts will open a new discipline, aeroservoelasticity, and tests will become multidisciplinary, involving controls, aerodynamics, propulsion and structures.

Overview of Additive Manufacturing Initiatives at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clinton, R. G., Jr.

2018-01-01

NASA's In Space Manufacturing Initiative (ISM) includes: The case for ISM - why; ISM path to exploration - results from the 3D Printing In Zero-G Technology Demonstration - ISM challenges; In space Robotic Manufacturing and Assembly (IRMA); Additive construction. Additively Manufacturing (AM) development for liquid rocket engine space flight hardware. MSFC standard and specification for additively manufactured space flight hardware. Summary.

Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sawin, Charles F. (Editor); Taylor, Gerald R. (Editor); Smith, Wanda L. (Editor); Brown, J. Travis (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Biomedical issues have presented a challenge to flight physicians, scientists, and engineers ever since the advent of high-speed, high-altitude airplane flight in the 1940s. In 1958, preparations began for the first manned space flights of Project Mercury. The medical data and flight experience gained through Mercury's six flights and the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab projects, as well as subsequent space flights, comprised the knowledge base that was used to develop and implement the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project (EDOMP). The EDOMP yielded substantial amounts of data in six areas of space biomedical research. In addition, a significant amount of hardware was developed and tested under the EDOMP. This hardware was designed to improve data gathering capabilities and maintain crew physical fitness, while minimizing the overall impact to the microgravity environment. The biomedical findings as well as the hardware development results realized from the EDOMP have been important to the continuing success of extended Space Shuttle flights and have formed the basis for medical studies of crew members living for three to five months aboard the Russian space station, Mir. EDOMP data and hardware are also being used in preparation for the construction and habitation of International Space Station. All data sets were grouped to be non-attributable to individuals, and submitted to NASA s Life Sciences Data Archive.

Optical communication for space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Firtmaurice, M.

1991-01-01

Activities performed at NASA/GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) related to direct detection optical communications for space applications are discussed. The following subject areas are covered: (1) requirements for optical communication systems (data rates and channel quality; spatial acquisition; fine tracking and pointing; and transmit point-ahead correction); (2) component testing and development (laser diodes performance characterization and life testing; and laser diode power combining); (3) system development and simulations (The GSFC pointing, acquisition and tracking system; hardware description; preliminary performance analysis; and high data rate transmitter/receiver systems); and (4) proposed flight demonstration of optical communications.

Redundant actuator development study. [flight control systems for supersonic transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryder, D. R.

1973-01-01

Current and past supersonic transport configurations are reviewed to assess redundancy requirements for future airplane control systems. Secondary actuators used in stability augmentation systems will probably be the most critical actuator application and require the highest level of redundancy. Two methods of actuator redundancy mechanization have been recommended for further study. Math models of the recommended systems have been developed for use in future computer simulations. A long range plan has been formulated for actuator hardware development and testing in conjunction with the NASA Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft.

Skylab mission report, second visit. [postflight analysis of engineering, experimentation, and medical aspects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

An evaluation is presented of the operational and engineering aspects of the second Skylab flight. Other areas described include: the performance of experimental hardware; the crew's evaluation of the flight; medical aspects; and hardware anomalies.

Constellation's First Flight Test: Ares I-X

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephan R.; Askins, Bruce R.

2010-01-01

On October 28, 2009, NASA launched Ares I-X, the first flight test of the Constellation Program that will send human beings to the Moon and beyond. This successful test is the culmination of a three-and-a-half-year, multi-center effort to design, build, and fly the first demonstration vehicle of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, the successor vehicle to the Space Shuttle. The suborbital mission was designed to evaluate the atmospheric flight characteristics of a vehicle dynamically similar to Ares I; perform a first stage separation and evaluate its effects; characterize and control roll torque; stack, fly, and recover a solid-motor first stage testing the Ares I parachutes; characterize ground, flight, and reentry environments; and develop and execute new ground hardware and procedures. Built from existing flight and new simulator hardware, Ares I-X integrated a Shuttle-heritage four-segment solid rocket booster for first stage propulsion, a spacer segment to simulate a five-segment booster, Peacekeeper axial engines for roll control, and Atlas V avionics, as well as simulators for the upper stage, crew module, and launch abort system. The mission leveraged existing logistical and ground support equipment while also developing new ones to accommodate the first in-line rocket for flying astronauts since the Saturn IB last flew from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in 1975. This paper will describe the development and integration of the various vehicle and ground elements, from conception to stacking in KSC s Vehicle Assembly Building; hardware performance prior to, during, and after the launch; and preliminary lessons and data gathered from the flight. While the Constellation Program is currently under review, Ares I-X has and will continue to provide vital lessons for NASA personnel in taking a vehicle concept from design to flight.

Intelligent redundant actuation system requirements and preliminary system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Defeo, P.; Geiger, L. J.; Harris, J.

1985-01-01

Several redundant actuation system configurations were designed and demonstrated to satisfy the stringent operational requirements of advanced flight control systems. However, this has been accomplished largely through brute force hardware redundancy, resulting in significantly increased computational requirements on the flight control computers which perform the failure analysis and reconfiguration management. Modern technology now provides powerful, low-cost microprocessors which are effective in performing failure isolation and configuration management at the local actuator level. One such concept, called an Intelligent Redundant Actuation System (IRAS), significantly reduces the flight control computer requirements and performs the local tasks more comprehensively than previously feasible. The requirements and preliminary design of an experimental laboratory system capable of demonstrating the concept and sufficiently flexible to explore a variety of configurations are discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoehn, A.; Chamberlain, D.J.; Forsyth, S.W.

PGBA, a plant growth facility developed for space flight biotechnology research, successfully grew a total of 30 plants in a closed, multi-crop chamber for 10 days aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-77). {ital Artemisia annua, Catharanthus roseus, Pinus taeda, Spinacia oleracea and Trifolium repens} were the five species studied during this mission. The primary mission objectives were to study the effects of microgravity for commercial and pharmaceutical production purposes. PGBA is a payload that represents a consortium of interests including BioServe Space Technologies (payload sponsor), NASA Ames Research Center (Controlled Ecological Life Support System, CELSS, Flight Program), Wisconsin Center formore » Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), and industrial affiliates (spaceflight effects on plants and formation of plant products such as pharmaceuticals). Although BioServe is responsible for the flight hardware development and integration of PGBA, NASA Ames, WSCAR and industrial affiliates provide significant hardware subsystems and technical biological expertise support. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

NASA HUNCH Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Nancy R.; Wagner, James; Phelps, Amanda

2014-01-01

What is NASA HUNCH? High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware-HUNCH is an instructional partnership between NASA and educational institutions. This partnership benefits both NASA and students. NASA receives cost-effective hardware and soft goods, while students receive real-world hands-on experiences. The 2014-2015 was the 12th year of the HUNCH Program. NASA Glenn Research Center joined the program that already included the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Langley Research Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. The program included 76 schools in 24 states and NASA Glenn worked with the following five schools in the HUNCH Build to Print Hardware Program: Medina Career Center, Medina, OH; Cattaraugus Allegheny-BOCES, Olean, NY; Orleans Niagara-BOCES, Medina, NY; Apollo Career Center, Lima, OH; Romeo Engineering and Tech Center, Washington, MI. The schools built various parts of an International Space Station (ISS) middeck stowage locker and learned about manufacturing process and how best to build these components to NASA specifications. For the 2015-2016 school year the schools will be part of a larger group of schools building flight hardware consisting of 20 ISS middeck stowage lockers for the ISS Program. The HUNCH Program consists of: Build to Print Hardware; Build to Print Soft Goods; Design and Prototyping; Culinary Challenge; Implementation: Web Page and Video Production.

James Webb Space Telescope Core 2 Test - Cryogenic Thermal Balance Test of the Observatorys Core Area Thermal Control Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cleveland, Paul; Parrish, Keith; Thomson, Shaun; Marsh, James; Comber, Brian

2016-01-01

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, will be the largest astronomical telescope ever sent into space. To observe the very first light of the early universe, JWST requires a large deployed 6.5-meter primary mirror cryogenically cooled to less than 50 Kelvin. Three scientific instruments are further cooled via a large radiator system to less than 40 Kelvin. A fourth scientific instrument is cooled to less than 7 Kelvin using a combination pulse-tube Joule-Thomson mechanical cooler. Passive cryogenic cooling enables the large scale of the telescope which must be highly folded for launch on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle and deployed once on orbit during its journey to the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point. Passive cooling of the observatory is enabled by the deployment of a large tennis court sized five layer Sunshield combined with the use of a network of high efficiency radiators. A high purity aluminum heat strap system connects the three instrument's detector systems to the radiator systems to dissipate less than a single watt of parasitic and instrument dissipated heat. JWST's large scale features, while enabling passive cooling, also prevent the typical flight configuration fully-deployed thermal balance test that is the keystone of most space missions' thermal verification plans. This paper describes the JWST Core 2 Test, which is a cryogenic thermal balance test of a full size, high fidelity engineering model of the Observatory's 'Core' area thermal control hardware. The 'Core' area is the key mechanical and cryogenic interface area between all Observatory elements. The 'Core' area thermal control hardware allows for temperature transition of 300K to approximately 50 K by attenuating heat from the room temperature IEC (instrument electronics) and the Spacecraft Bus. Since the flight hardware is not available for test, the Core 2 test uses high fidelity and flight-like reproductions.

Flight testing the Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC) A unique management experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putnam, T. W.; Burcham, F. W., Jr.; Kock, B. M.

1983-01-01

The concept for the DEEC had its origin in the early 1970s. At that time it was recognized that the F100 engine performance, operability, reliability, and cost could be substantially improved by replacing the original mechanical/supervisory electronic control system with a full-authority digital control system. By 1978, the engine manufacturer had designed and initiated the procurement of flight-qualified control system hardware. As a precursor to an integrated controls program, a flight evaluation of the DEEC system on the F-15 aircraft was proposed. Questions regarding the management of the DEEC flight evaluation program are discussed along with the program elements, the technical results of the F-15 evaluation, and the impact of the flight evaluation on after-burning turbofan controls technology and its use in and application to military aircraft. The lessons learned through the conduct of the program are discussed.

BSM Delta qualification 2, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

This report, presented in three volumes, provides the results of a two-motor Delta Qualification 2 program conducted in 1993 to certify the following enhancements for incorporation into Booster Separation Motor (BSM) flight hardware: (1) vulcanized-in-place nozzle aft closure insulation; (2) new isostatic ATJ bulk graphite throat insert material; (3) adhesive EA 9394 for bonding the nozzle throat, igniter grain rod/centering insert/igniter case; (4) deletion of the igniter adapter insulator ring; (5) deletion of igniter adapter/igniter case interface RTV; and (6) deletion of Loctite from igniter retainer plate threads. The enhancements above directly resulted from (1) the BSM Total Quality Management (TQM) Team initiatives to enhance the BSM producibility, and (2) the necessity to qualify new throat insert and adhesive systems to replace existing materials that will not be available. Testing was completed at both the component and motor levels. Component testing was accomplished to screen candidate materials (e.g., throat materials, adhesive systems) and to optimize processes (e.g., aft closure insulator vulcanization approach) prior to their incorporation into the test motors. Motor testing - consisting of two motors, randomly selected by USBI's onsite quality personnel from production lot AAY, which were modified to accept the enhancements - were completed to provide the final qualification of the enhancements for incorporation into flight hardware. It is concluded that all of the enhancements herein tested are qualified to be incorporated into flight hardware for the BSM.

Flight and Integrated Vehicle Testing: Laying the Groundwork for the Next Generation of Space Exploration Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, J. L.; Cockrell, C. E.

2009-01-01

Integrated vehicle testing will be critical to ensuring proper vehicle integration of the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares V cargo launch vehicle. The Ares Projects, based at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, created the Flight and Integrated Test Office (FITO) as a separate team to ensure that testing is an integral part of the vehicle development process. As its name indicates, FITO is responsible for managing flight testing for the Ares vehicles. FITO personnel are well on the way toward assembling and flying the first flight test vehicle of Ares I, the Ares I-X. This suborbital development flight will evaluate the performance of Ares I from liftoff to first stage separation, testing flight control algorithms, vehicle roll control, separation and recovery systems, and ground operations. Ares I-X is now scheduled to fly in summer 2009. The follow-on flight, Ares I-Y, will test a full five-segment first stage booster and will include cryogenic propellants in the upper stage, an upper stage engine simulator, and an active launch abort system. The following flight, Orion 1, will be the first flight of an active upper stage and upper stage engine, as well as the first uncrewed flight of an Orion spacecraft into orbit. The Ares Projects are using an incremental buildup of flight capabilities prior to the first operational crewed flight of Ares I and the Orion crew exploration vehicle in 2015. In addition to flight testing, the FITO team will be responsible for conducting hardware, software, and ground vibration tests of the integrated launch vehicle. These efforts will include verifying hardware, software, and ground handling interfaces. Through flight and integrated testing, the Ares Projects will identify and mitigate risks early as the United States prepares to take its next giant leaps to the Moon and beyond.

Electric power system test and verification program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rylicki, Daniel S.; Robinson, Frank, Jr.

1994-01-01

Space Station Freedom's (SSF's) electric power system (EPS) hardware and software verification is performed at all levels of integration, from components to assembly and system level tests. Careful planning is essential to ensure the EPS is tested properly on the ground prior to launch. The results of the test performed on breadboard model hardware and analyses completed to date have been evaluated and used to plan for design qualification and flight acceptance test phases. These results and plans indicate the verification program for SSF's 75-kW EPS would have been successful and completed in time to support the scheduled first element launch.

First Cryo-Vacuum Test of the JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimble, Randy A.; Antonille, S. R.; Balzano, V.; Comber, B. J.; Davila, P. S.; Drury, M. D.; Glasse, A.; Glazer, S. D.; Lundquist, R.; Mann, S. D.; McGuffey, D. B.; Novo-Gradac, K. J.; Penanen, K.; Ramey, D. D.; Sullivan, J.; Van Campen, J.; Vila, M. B.

2014-01-01

The integration and test program for the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) calls for three cryo-vacuum tests of the ISIM hardware. The first is a risk-reduction test aimed at checking out the test hardware and procedures; this will be followed by two formal verification tests that will bracket other key aspects of the environmental test program (e.g. vibration and acoustics, EMI/EMC). The first of these cryo-vacuum tests, the risk-reduction test, was executed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center starting in late August, 2013. Flight hardware under test included two (of the eventual four) flight instruments, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and the Fine Guidance Sensor/Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS/NIRISS), mounted to the ISIM structure, as well as the ISIM Electronics Compartment (IEC). The instruments were cooled to their flight operating temperatures 40K for FGS/NIRISS, ~6K for MIRI) and optically tested against a cryo-certified telescope simulator. Key goals for the risk reduction test included: 1) demonstration of controlled cooldown and warmup, stable control at operating temperature, and measurement of heat loads, 2) operation of the science instruments with ISIM electronics systems at temperature, 3) health trending of the science instruments against instrument-level test results, 4) measurement of the pupil positions and six degree of freedom alignment of the science instruments against the simulated telescope focal surface, 5) detailed optical characterization of the NIRISS instrument, 6) verification of the signal-to-noise performance of the MIRI, and 7) exercise of the Onboard Script System that will be used to operate the instruments in flight. In addition, the execution of the test is expected to yield invaluable logistical experience - development and execution of procedures, communications, analysis of results - that will greatly benefit the subsequent verification tests. At the time of this submission, the hardware had reached operating temperature and was partway through the cryo test program. We report here on the test configuration, the overall process, and the results that were ultimately obtained.

Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-01-01

This chart details Skylab's In-Flight Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment facility, a medical evaluation designed to monitor changes in astronauts' cardiovascular systems during long-duration space missions. This experiment collected in-flight data for predicting the impairment of physical capacity and the degree of orthostatic intolerance to be expected upon return to Earth. Data to be collected were blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, vectorcardiogram, lower body negative pressure, leg volume changes, and body mass. The Marshall Space Flight Center had program management responsibility for the development of Skylab hardware and experiments.

Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1970-01-01

This 1970 photograph shows Skylab's In-Flight Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment facility, a medical evaluation designed to monitor changes in astronauts' cardiovascular systems during long-duration space missions. This experiment collected in-flight data for predicting the impairment of physical capacity and the degree of orthostatic intolerance to be expected upon return to Earth. Data to be collected were blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, vectorcardiogram, lower body negative pressure, leg volume changes, and body mass. The Marshall Space Flight Center had program management responsibility for the development of Skylab hardware and experiments.

Current Status of NASA's NEXT-C Ion Propulsion System Development Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shastry, Rohit; Soulas, George; Aulisio, Michael; Schmidt, George

2017-01-01

NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) is a 7-kW class gridded ion thruster-based propulsion system that was initially developed from 2002 to 2012 under NASAs In-Space Propulsion Technology Program to meet future science mission requirements. In 2015, a contract was awarded to Aerojet Rocketdyne, with subcontractor ZIN Technologies, to design, build and test two NEXT flight thrusters and two power processing units that would be available for use on future NASA science missions. Because an additional goal of this contract is to take steps towards offering NEXT as a commercialized system, it is called the NEXT-Commercial project, or NEXT-C. This paper reviews the capabilities of the NEXT-C system, status of the NEXT-C project, and the forward plan to build, test, and deliver flight hardware in support of future NASA and commercial applications. It also briefly addresses some of the potential applications that could utilize the hardware developed and built by the project.

Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS) hardware development. Volume 1: Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

While, D. M.

1983-01-01

Hardware development of the Shuttle Entry Data System (SEADS) is described. The system consists of an array of fourteen pressure ports, installed in an Orbiter nose cap, which, when coupled with existing fuselage mounted static pressure ports permits computation of entry flight parameters. Elements of the system that are described include the following: (1) penetration assemblies to place pressure port openings at the surface of the nose cap; (2) pressure tubes to transmit the surface pressure to transducers; (3) support posts or manifolds to provide support for, and reduce the length of, the individual pressure tubes; (4) insulation for the manifolds; and (5) a SEADS nose cap. Design, analyses, and tests to develop and certify design for flight are described. Specific tests include plasma arc exposure, radiant thermal, vibration, and structural. Volume one summarizes highlights of the program, particularly as they relate to the final design of SEADS. Volume two summarizes all of the Vought responsible activities in essentially a chronological order.

Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS) hardware development. Volume 2: History

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

While, D. M.

1983-01-01

Hardware development of the Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS) is described. The system consists of an array of fourteen pressure ports, installed in an Orbiter nose cap, which, when coupled with existing fuselage mounted static pressure ports permits computation of entry flight parameters. Elements of the system that are described include the following: (1) penetration assemblies to place pressure port openings at the surface of the nose cap; (2) pressure tubes to transmit the surface pressure to transducers; (3) support posts or manifolds to provide support for, and reduce the length of, the individual pressure tubes; (4) insulation for the manifolds; and (5) a SEADS nose cap. Design, analyses, and tests to develop and certify design for flight are described. Specific tests included plasma arc exposure, radiant thermal, vibration, and structural. Volume one summarizes highlights of the program, particularly as they relate to the final design of SEADS. Volume two summarizes all of the Vought responsible activities in essentially a chronological order.

Water Processor and Oxygen Generation Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bedard, John

1997-01-01

This report documents the results of the tasks which initiated efforts on design issues relating to the Water Processor (WP) and the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Flight Hardware for the International Space Station. This report fulfills the Statement of Work deliverables requirement for contract H-29387D. The following lists the tasks required by contract H-29387D: (1) HSSSI shall coordinate a detailed review of WP/OGA Flight Hardware program requirements with personnel from MSFC to identify requirements that can be eliminated without affecting the technical integrity of the WP/OGA Hardware; (2) HSSSI shall conduct the technical interchanges with personnel from MSFC to resolve design issues related to WP/OGA Flight Hardware; (3) HSSSI will initiate discussions with Zellwegger Analytics, Inc. to address design issues related to WP and PCWQM interfaces.

Tethered satellite system dynamics and control review panel and related activities, phase 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Two major tests of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) engineering and flight units were conducted to demonstrate the functionality of the hardware and software. Deficiencies in the hardware/software integration tests (HSIT) led to a recommendation for more testing to be performed. Selected problem areas of tether dynamics were analyzed, including verification of the severity of skip rope oscillations, verification or comparison runs to explore dynamic phenomena observed in other simulations, and data generation runs to explore the performance of the time domain and frequency domain skip rope observers.

Final postflight hardware evaluation report RSRM-28 (STS-53)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starrett, William David, Jr.

1993-01-01

The final report for the Clearfield disassembly evaluation and a continuation of the KSC postflight assessment for the RSRM-28 (STS-53) RSRM flight set is presented. All observed hardware conditions were documented on PFOR's and are included in Appendices A through C. Appendices D and E contain the measurements and safety factor data for the nozzle and insulation components. This report, along with the KSC Ten-Day Postflight Hardware Evaluation Report (TWR-64215), represents a summary of the RSRM-28 hardware evaluation. The as-flown hardware configuration is documented in TWR-63638. Disassembly evaluation photograph numbers are logged in TWA-1989. The RSRM-28 flight set disassembly evaluations described were performed at the RSRM Refurbishment Facility in Clearfield, Utah. The final factory joint demate occurred on July 15, 1993. Additional time was required to perform the evaluation of the stiffener rings per special issue 4.1.5.2 because of the washout schedule. The release of this report was after completion of all special issues per program management direction. Detailed evaluations were performed in accordance with the Clearfield PEEP, TWR-50051, Revision A. All observations were compared against limits that are also defined in the PEEP. These limits outline the criteria for categorizing the observations as acceptable, reportable, or critical. Hardware conditions that were unexpected and/or determined to be reportable or critical were evaluated by the applicable team and tracked through the PFAR system.

Cryogenic Orbital Test Bed 3 (CRYOTE3) Overview and Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, Jonathan; Martin, Jim; Smith, James; Sisco, Jim; Marsell, Brandon; Roth, Jacob; Schallhorn, Paul; Wanzie, Nathaniel; Piryk, David; Bauer, Jeffrey;

High-Speed Isolation Board for Flight Hardware Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamamoto, Clifford K.; Goodpasture, Richard L.

2011-01-01

There is a need to provide a portable and cost-effective galvanic isolation between ground support equipment and flight hardware such that any unforeseen voltage differential between ground and power supplies is eliminated. An interface board was designed for use between the ground support equipment and the flight hardware that electrically isolates all input and output signals and faithfully reproduces them on each side of the interface. It utilizes highly integrated multi-channel isolating devices to minimize size and reduce assembly time. This single-board solution provides appropriate connector hardware and breakout of required flight signals to individual connectors as needed for various ground support equipment. The board utilizes multi-channel integrated circuits that contain transformer coupling, thereby allowing input and output signals to be isolated from one another while still providing high-fidelity reproduction of the signal up to 90 MHz. The board also takes in a single-voltage power supply input from the ground support equipment and in turn provides a transformer-derived isolated voltage supply to power the portion of the circuitry that is electrically connected to the flight hardware. Prior designs used expensive opto-isolated couplers that were required for each signal to isolate and were time-consuming to assemble. In addition, these earlier designs were bulky and required a 2U rack-mount enclosure. The new design is smaller than a piece of 8.5 11-in. (.22 28-mm) paper and can be easily hand-carried where needed. The flight hardware in question is based on a lineage of existing software-defined radios (SDRs) that utilize a common interface connector with many similar input-output signals present. There are currently four to five variations of this SDR, and more upcoming versions are planned based on the more recent design.

Development and application of a model for the analysis of trades between space launch system operations and acquisition costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nix, Michael B.

2005-12-01

Early design decisions in the development of space launch systems determine the costs to acquire and operate launch systems. Some sources indicate that as much as 90% of life cycle costs are fixed by the end of the critical design review phase. System characteristics determined by these early decisions are major factors in the acquisition cost of flight hardware elements and facilities and influence operations costs through the amount of maintenance and support labor required to sustain system function. Operations costs are also dependent on post-development management decisions regarding how much labor will be deployed to meet requirements of market demand and ownership profit. The ability to perform early trade-offs between these costs is vital to the development of systems that have the necessary capacity to provide service and are profitable to operate. An Excel-based prototype model was developed for making early analyses of trade-offs between the costs to operate a space launch system and to acquire the necessary assets to meet a given set of operational requirements. The model, integrating input from existing models and adding missing capability, allows the user to make such trade-offs across a range of operations concepts (required flight rates, staffing levels, shifts per workday, workdays per week and per year, unreliability, wearout and depot maintenance) and the number, type and capability of assets (flight hardware elements, processing and supporting facilities and infrastructure). The costs and capabilities of hypothetical launch systems can be modeled as a function of interrelated turnaround times and labor resource levels, and asset loss and retirement. The number of flight components and facilities required can be calculated and the operations and acquisition costs compared for a specified scenario. Findings, based on the analysis of a hypothetical two stage to orbit, reusable, unmanned launch system, indicate that the model is suitable for the trade-off analyses desired. The minimum turnaround time/maximum labor allocation for specific hardware configurations and characteristics and corresponding asset requirements can be estimated. Either turnaround time or resources can be varied and the resulting operations and acquisition costs can be compared. Asset reliability, wearout and depot maintenance intervals and durations can be varied as well to analyze the effects on costs. Likewise, the effects on operations and acquisitions costs of the introduction of alternative technologies that affect reliability, maintainability and supportability in various hardware configurations can be evaluated.

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems Test Facility at MSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is responsible for designing and building the life support systems that will provide the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) a comfortable environment in which to live and work. Scientists and engineers at the MSFC are working together to provide the ISS with systems that are safe, efficient, and cost-effective. These compact and powerful systems are collectively called the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems, or simply, ECLSS. This photograph shows the development Water Processor located in two racks in the ECLSS test area at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Actual waste water, simulating Space Station waste, is generated and processed through the hardware to evaluate the performance of technologies in the flight Water Processor design.

US experiments flown on the Soviet biosatellite Cosmos 2044. Volume 1: Mission description, experiments K-7-01 - K-7-15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connolly, James P. (Editor); Grindeland, Richard E. (Editor); Ballard, Rodney W. (Editor)

1994-01-01

Cosmos 2044 was launched on September 15, 1989, containing radiation dosimetry experiments and a biological payload including two young male rhesus monkeys, ten adult male Wistar rats, insects, amphibians, protozoa, cell cultures, worms, plants and fish. The biosatellite was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Soviet Union for a mission duration of 14 days, as planned. The major research objectives were: (1) Study adaptive response mechanisms of mammals during flight; (2) Study physiological mechanisms underlying vestibular, motor system and brain function in primates during early and later adaptation phases; (3) Study the tissue regeneration processes of mammals; (4) Study the development of single-celled organisms, cell cultures and embryos in microgravity; (5) Study radiation characteristics during the mission and investigate doses, fluxes and spectra of cosmic radiation for various types of shielding. American and Soviet specialists jointly conducted 29 experiments on this mission including extensive preflight and post flight studies with rhesus monkeys, and tissue processing and cell culturing post flight. Biosamples and data were subsequently transferred to the United States. The U.S. responsibilities for this flight included development of flight and ground-based hardware, the preparation of rat tissue sample procedures, the verification testing of hardware and experiment procedures, and the post flight analysis of biospecimens and data for the joint experiments. The U.S. investigations included four primate experiments, 24 rat experiments, and one radiation dosimetry experiment. Three scientists investigated tissue repair during flight for a subgroup of rats injured preflight by surgical intervention. A description of the Cosmos 2044 mission is presented in this report including preflight, on-orbit and post flight activities. The flight and ground-based bioinstrumentation which was developed by the U.S. and U.S.S.R. is also described, along with the associated preflight testing of the U.S. hardware.

Reconfiguration of NASA GRC's Vacuum Facility 6 for Testing of Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Peter; Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Yim, John; Haag, Tom; Mackey, Jonathan; McVetta, Mike; Sorrelle, Luke; Tomsik, Tom; Gilligan, Ryan;

Reconfiguration of NASA GRC's Vacuum Facility 6 for Testing of Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Peter Y.; Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Yim, John; Haag, Tom; Mackey, Jonathan; McVetta, Mike; Sorrelle, Luke; Tomsik, Tom; Gilligan, Ryan;

Reconfiguration of NASA GRC's Vacuum Facility 6 for Testing of Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Peter Y.; Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Yim, John T.; Haag, Thomas W.; Mackey, Jonathan A.; McVetta, Michael S.; Sorrelle, Luke T.; Tomsik, Thomas M.; Gilligan, Ryan P.;

ARC-2007-ACD07-0073-126

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-07

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. EEL personnel fabricating testing components with Jerry Wang of Ames, Engineering Evaluation labLCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. EEL personnel fabricating testing components with Jerry Wang of Ames, Engineering Evaluation lab

NASA Space Technology Draft Roadmap Area 13: Ground and Launch Systems Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clements, Greg

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the technology development roadmap for the area of ground and launch systems processing. The scope of this technology area includes: (1) Assembly, integration, and processing of the launch vehicle, spacecraft, and payload hardware (2) Supply chain management (3) Transportation of hardware to the launch site (4) Transportation to and operations at the launch pad (5) Launch processing infrastructure and its ability to support future operations (6) Range, personnel, and facility safety capabilities (7) Launch and landing weather (8) Environmental impact mitigations for ground and launch operations (9) Launch control center operations and infrastructure (10) Mission integration and planning (11) Mission training for both ground and flight crew personnel (12) Mission control center operations and infrastructure (13) Telemetry and command processing and archiving (14) Recovery operations for flight crews, flight hardware, and returned samples. This technology roadmap also identifies ground, launch and mission technologies that will: (1) Dramatically transform future space operations, with significant improvement in life-cycle costs (2) Improve the quality of life on earth, while exploring in co-existence with the environment (3) Increase reliability and mission availability using low/zero maintenance materials and systems, comprehensive capabilities to ascertain and forecast system health/configuration, data integration, and the use of advanced/expert software systems (4) Enhance methods to assess safety and mission risk posture, which would allow for timely and better decision making. Several key technologies are identified, with a couple of slides devoted to one of these technologies (i.e., corrosion detection and prevention). Development of these technologies can enhance life on earth and have a major impact on how we can access space, eventually making routine commercial space access and improve building and manufacturing, and weather forecasting for example for the effect of these process improvements on our daily lives.

Deploying a Route Optimization EFB Application for Commercial Airline Operational Trials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roscoe, David A.; Vivona, Robert A.; Woods, Sharon E.; Karr, David A.; Wing, David J.

2016-01-01

The Traffic Aware Planner (TAP), developed for NASA Langley Research Center to support the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) project, is a flight-efficiency software application developed for an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). Tested in two flight trials and planned for operational testing by two commercial airlines, TAP is a real-time trajectory optimization application that leverages connectivity with onboard avionics and broadband Internet sources to compute and recommend route modifications to flight crews to improve fuel and time performance. The application utilizes a wide range of data, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic, Flight Management System (FMS) guidance and intent, on-board sensors, published winds and weather, and Special Use Airspace (SUA) schedules. This paper discusses the challenges of developing and deploying TAP to various EFB platforms, our solutions to some of these challenges, and lessons learned, to assist commercial software developers and hardware manufacturers in their efforts to implement and extend TAP functionality in their environments. EFB applications (such as TAP) typically access avionics data via an ARINC 834 Simple Text Avionics Protocol (STAP) server hosted by an Aircraft Interface Device (AID) or other installed hardware. While the protocol is standardized, the data sources, content, and transmission rates can vary from aircraft to aircraft. Additionally, the method of communicating with the AID may vary depending on EFB hardware and/or the availability of onboard networking services, such as Ethernet, WIFI, Bluetooth, or other mechanisms. EFBs with portable and installed components can be implemented using a variety of operating systems, and cockpits are increasingly incorporating tablet-based technologies, further expanding the number of platforms the application may need to support. Supporting multiple EFB platforms, AIDs, avionics datasets, and user interfaces presents a challenge for software developers and the management of their code baselines. Maintaining multiple baselines to support all deployment targets can be extremely cumbersome and expensive. Certification also needs to be considered when developing the application. Regardless of whether the software is itself destined to be certified, data requirements in support of the application and user interface elements may introduce certification requirements for EFB manufacturers and the airlines. The example of TAP, the challenges faced, solutions implemented, and lessons learned will give EFB application and hardware developers insight into future potential requirements in deploying TAP or similar flight-deck EFB applications.

CID-720 aircraft Langley Research Center preflight hardware tests: Development, flight acceptance and qualification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pride, J. D.

1986-01-01

The testing conducted on LaRC-developed hardware for the controlled impact demonstration transport aircraft is discussed. To properly develop flight qualified crash systems, two environments were considered: the aircraft flight environment with the focus on vibration and temperature effects, and the crash environment with the long pulse shock effects. Also with the large quantity of fuel in the wing tanks the possibility of fire was considered to be a threat to data retrieval and thus fire tests were included in the development test process. The aircraft test successfully demonstrated the performance of the LaRC developed heat shields. Good telemetered data (S-band) was received during the impact and slide-out phase, and even after the aircraft came to rest. The two onboard DAS tape recorders were protected from the intense fire and high quality tape data was recovered. The complete photographic system performed as planned throughout the 40.0 sec of film supply. The four photo power distribution pallets remained in good condition and all ten onboard 16 mm high speed (400 frames/sec) cameras produced good film data.

Low level image processing techniques using the pipeline image processing engine in the flight telerobotic servicer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nashman, Marilyn; Chaconas, Karen J.

1988-01-01

The sensory processing system for the NASA/NBS Standard Reference Model (NASREM) for telerobotic control is described. This control system architecture was adopted by NASA of the Flight Telerobotic Servicer. The control system is hierarchically designed and consists of three parallel systems: task decomposition, world modeling, and sensory processing. The Sensory Processing System is examined, and in particular the image processing hardware and software used to extract features at low levels of sensory processing for tasks representative of those envisioned for the Space Station such as assembly and maintenance are described.

Shuttle avionics software development trials: Tribulations and successes, the backup flight system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chevers, E. S.

1985-01-01

The development and verification of the Backup Flight System software (BFS) is discussed. The approach taken for the BFS was to develop a very simple and straightforward software program and then test it in every conceivable manner. The result was a program that contained approximately 12,000 full words including ground checkout and the built in test program for the computer. To perform verification, a series of tests was defined using the actual flight type hardware and simulated flight conditions. Then simulated flights were flown and detailed performance analysis was conducted. The intent of most BFS tests was to demonstrate that a stable flightpath could be obtained after engagement from an anomalous initial condition. The extention of the BFS to meet the requirements of the orbital flight test phase is also described.

Proximity operations considerations affecting spacecraft design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staas, Steven K.

1991-01-01

Experience from several recent spacecraft development programs, such as Space Station Freedom (SSF) and the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) has shown the need for factoring proximity operations considerations into the vehicle design process. Proximity operations, those orbital maneuvers and procedures which involve operation of two or more spacecraft at ranges of less than one nautical mile, are essential to the construction, servicing, and operation of complex spacecraft. Typical proximity operations considerations which drive spacecraft design may be broken into two broad categories; flight profile characteristics and concerns, and use of various spacecraft systems during proximity operations. Proximity operations flight profile concerns include the following: (1) relative approach/separation line; (2) relative orientation of the vehicles; (3) relative translational and rotational rates; (4) vehicle interaction, in the form of thruster plume impingement, mating or demating operations, or uncontrolled contact/collision; and (5) active vehicle piloting. Spacecraft systems used during proximity operations include the following: (1) sensors, such as radar, laser ranging devices, or optical ranging systems; (2) effector hardware, such as thrusters; (3) flight control software; and (4) mating hardware, needed for docking or berthing operations. A discussion of how these factors affect vehicle design follows, addressing both active and passive/cooperative vehicles.

Summary of Resources for the International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System For Core Complete Modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, David E.

2004-01-01

The Core Complete Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) System for the International Space Station (ISS) will consist of components and subsystems in both the United States (U.S.) and International Partner elements which together will perform the functions of Temperature and Humidity Control (THC), Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS), Atmosphere Revitalization (AR), Water Recovery and Management (WRM), Fire Detection and Suppression (FDS), and Vacuum System (VS) for the station. Due to limited resources available on ISS, detailed attention is given to minimizing and tracking all resources associated with all systems, beginning with estimates during the hardware development phase through measured actuals when flight hardware is built and delivered. A summary of resources consumed by the addition of future U.S. ECLS system hardware to get to Core Complete is presented, including launch weight, average continuous and peak power loads, on-orbit volume and resupply logistics.

System for Secure Integration of Aviation Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, Deepak; Wang, Yao; Keller, Rich; Chidester, Tom; Statler, Irving; Lynch, Bob; Patel, Hemil; Windrem, May; Lawrence, Bob

2007-01-01

The Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS) of Ames Research Center has been established to promote analysis of aviation data by airlines and other interested users for purposes of enhancing the quality (especially safety) of flight operations. The ADIS is a system of computer hardware and software for collecting, integrating, and disseminating aviation data pertaining to flights and specified flight events that involve one or more airline(s). The ADIS is secure in the sense that care is taken to ensure the integrity of sources of collected data and to verify the authorizations of requesters to receive data. Most importantly, the ADIS removes a disincentive to collection and exchange of useful data by providing for automatic removal of information that could be used to identify specific flights and crewmembers. Such information, denoted sensitive information, includes flight data (here signifying data collected by sensors aboard an aircraft during flight), weather data for a specified route on a specified date, date and time, and any other information traceable to a specific flight. The removal of information that could be used to perform such tracing is called "deidentification." Airlines are often reluctant to keep flight data in identifiable form because of concerns about loss of anonymity. Hence, one of the things needed to promote retention and analysis of aviation data is an automated means of de-identification of archived flight data to enable integration of flight data with non-flight aviation data while preserving anonymity. Preferably, such an automated means would enable end users of the data to continue to use pre-existing data-analysis software to identify anomalies in flight data without identifying a specific anomalous flight. It would then also be possible to perform statistical analyses of integrated data. These needs are satisfied by the ADIS, which enables an end user to request aviation data associated with de-identified flight data. The ADIS includes client software integrated with other software running on flight-operations quality-assurance (FOQA) computers for purposes of analyzing data to study specified types of events or exceedences (departures of flight parameters from normal ranges). In addition to ADIS client software, ADIS includes server hardware and software that provide services to the ADIS clients via the Internet (see figure). The ADIS server receives and integrates flight and non-flight data pertaining to flights from multiple sources. The server accepts data updates from authorized sources only and responds to requests from authorized users only. In order to satisfy security requirements established by the airlines, (1) an ADIS client must not be accessible from the Internet by an unauthorized user and (2) non-flight data as airport terminal information system (ATIS) and weather data must be displayed without any identifying flight information. ADIS hardware and software architecture as well as encryption and data display scheme are designed to meet these requirements. When a user requests one or more selected aviation data characteristics associated with an event (e.g., a collision, near miss, equipment malfunction, or exceedence), the ADIS client augments the request with date and time information from encrypted files and submits the augmented request to the server. Once the user s authorization has been verified, the server returns the requested information in de-identified form.

Research & Technology Report Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald A. (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Maran, Stephen (Editor); Walter, Lou (Editor); Brown, Mitch (Editor)

1995-01-01

The main theme of this edition of the annual Research and Technology Report is Mission Operations and Data Systems. Shifting from centralized to distributed mission operations, and from human interactive operations to highly automated operations is reported. The following aspects are addressed: Mission planning and operations; TDRSS, Positioning Systems, and orbit determination; hardware and software associated with Ground System and Networks; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web. Flight projects are described along with the achievements in space sciences and earth sciences. Spacecraft subsystems, cryogenic developments, and new tools and capabilities are also discussed.

Formation Flight of Multiple UAVs via Onboard Sensor Information Sharing.

PubMed

Park, Chulwoo; Cho, Namhoon; Lee, Kyunghyun; Kim, Youdan

2015-07-17

To monitor large areas or simultaneously measure multiple points, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be flown in formation. To perform such flights, sensor information generated by each UAV should be shared via communications. Although a variety of studies have focused on the algorithms for formation flight, these studies have mainly demonstrated the performance of formation flight using numerical simulations or ground robots, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of UAVs. In this study, an onboard sensor information sharing system and formation flight algorithms for multiple UAVs are proposed. The communication delays of radiofrequency (RF) telemetry are analyzed to enable the implementation of the onboard sensor information sharing system. Using the sensor information sharing, the formation guidance law for multiple UAVs, which includes both a circular and close formation, is designed. The hardware system, which includes avionics and an airframe, is constructed for the proposed multi-UAV platform. A numerical simulation is performed to demonstrate the performance of the formation flight guidance and control system for multiple UAVs. Finally, a flight test is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm for the multi-UAV system.

Formation Flight of Multiple UAVs via Onboard Sensor Information Sharing

PubMed Central

Park, Chulwoo; Cho, Namhoon; Lee, Kyunghyun; Kim, Youdan

2015-01-01

To monitor large areas or simultaneously measure multiple points, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be flown in formation. To perform such flights, sensor information generated by each UAV should be shared via communications. Although a variety of studies have focused on the algorithms for formation flight, these studies have mainly demonstrated the performance of formation flight using numerical simulations or ground robots, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of UAVs. In this study, an onboard sensor information sharing system and formation flight algorithms for multiple UAVs are proposed. The communication delays of radiofrequency (RF) telemetry are analyzed to enable the implementation of the onboard sensor information sharing system. Using the sensor information sharing, the formation guidance law for multiple UAVs, which includes both a circular and close formation, is designed. The hardware system, which includes avionics and an airframe, is constructed for the proposed multi-UAV platform. A numerical simulation is performed to demonstrate the performance of the formation flight guidance and control system for multiple UAVs. Finally, a flight test is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm for the multi-UAV system. PMID:26193281

Design guidelines for robotically serviceable hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Scott A.

1988-01-01

Research being conducted at the Goddard Space Flight Center into the development of guidelines for the design of robotically serviceable spaceflight hardware is described. A mock-up was built based on an existing spaceflight system demonstrating how these guidelines can be applied to actual hardware. The report examines the basic servicing philosophy being studied and how this philosophy is reflected in the formulation of design guidelines for robotic servicing. A description of the mock-up is presented with emphasis on the design features that make it robot friendly. Three robotic servicing schemes fulfilling the design guidelines were developed for the mock-up. These servicing schemes are examined as to how their implementation was affected by the constraints of the spacecraft system on which the mock-up is based.

Development of a simple, self-contained flight test data acquisition system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Renz, R. R. L.

1981-01-01

A low cost flight test data acquisition system, applicable to general aviation airplanes, was developed which meets criteria for doing longitudinal and lateral stability analysis. Th package consists of (1) a microprocessor controller and data acquisition module; (2) a transducer module; and (3) a power supply module. The system is easy to install and occupies space in the cabin or baggage compartment of the airplane. All transducers are contained in these modules except the total pressure tube, static pressure air temperature transducer, and control position transducers. The NASA-developed MMLE program was placed on a microcomputer on which all data reduction is done. The flight testing program undertaken proved both the flight testing hardware and the data reduction method to be applicable to the current field of general aviation airplanes.

The role of simulation in the development and flight test of the HiMAT vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, M. B.; Schilling, L. J.

1984-01-01

Real time simulations have been essential in the flight test program of the highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) remotely piloted research vehicle at NASA Ames Research Center's Dryden Flight Research Facility. The HiMAT project makes extensive use of simulations in design, development, and qualification for flight, pilot training, and flight planning. Four distinct simulations, each with varying amounts of hardware in the loop, were developed for the HiMAT project. The use of simulations in detecting anomalous behavior of the flight software and hardware at the various stages of development, verification, and validation has been the key to flight qualification of the HiMAT vehicle.

Utilization of Virtual Server Technology in Mission Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Felton, Larry; Lankford, Kimberly; Pitts, R. Lee; Pruitt, Robert W.

2010-01-01

Virtualization provides the opportunity to continue to do "more with less"---more computing power with fewer physical boxes, thus reducing the overall hardware footprint, power and cooling requirements, software licenses, and their associated costs. This paper explores the tremendous advantages and any disadvantages of virtualization in all of the environments associated with software and systems development to operations flow. It includes the use and benefits of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, and identifies lessons learned concerning hardware and network configurations. Using the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an example, we demonstrate that deploying virtualized servers as a means of managing computing resources is applicable and beneficial to many areas of application, up to and including flight operations.

Virtualization in the Operations Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, Lee; Lankford, Kim; Felton, Larry; Pruitt, Robert

2010-01-01

Virtualization provides the opportunity to continue to do "more with less"---more computing power with fewer physical boxes, thus reducing the overall hardware footprint, power and cooling requirements, software licenses, and their associated costs. This paper explores the tremendous advantages and any disadvantages of virtualization in all of the environments associated with software and systems development to operations flow. It includes the use and benefits of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, and identifies lessons learned concerning hardware and network configurations. Using the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an example, we demonstrate that deploying virtualized servers as a means of managing computing resources is applicable and beneficial to many areas of application, up to and including flight operations.

Ratioing methods for in-flight response calibration of space-based spectro-radiometers, operating in the solar spectral region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lobb, Dan

2017-11-01

One of the most significant problems for space-based spectro-radiometer systems, observing Earth from space in the solar spectral band (UV through short-wave IR), is in achievement of the required absolute radiometric accuracy. Classical methods, for example using one or more sun-illuminated diffusers as reflectance standards, do not generally provide methods for monitoring degradation of the in-flight reference after pre-flight characterisation. Ratioing methods have been proposed that provide monitoring of degradation of solar attenuators in flight, thus in principle allowing much higher confidence in absolute response calibration. Two example methods are described. It is shown that systems can be designed for relatively low size and without significant additions to the complexity of flight hardware.

Experimental Validation of L1 Adaptive Control: Rohrs' Counterexample in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xargay, Enric; Hovakimyan, Naira; Dobrokhodov, Vladimir; Kaminer, Issac; Kitsios, Ioannis; Cao, Chengyu; Gregory, Irene M.; Valavani, Lena

2010-01-01

The paper presents new results on the verification and in-flight validation of an L1 adaptive flight control system, and proposes a general methodology for verification and validation of adaptive flight control algorithms. The proposed framework is based on Rohrs counterexample, a benchmark problem presented in the early 80s to show the limitations of adaptive controllers developed at that time. In this paper, the framework is used to evaluate the performance and robustness characteristics of an L1 adaptive control augmentation loop implemented onboard a small unmanned aerial vehicle. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations and flight test results confirm the ability of the L1 adaptive controller to maintain stability and predictable performance of the closed loop adaptive system in the presence of general (artificially injected) unmodeled dynamics. The results demonstrate the advantages of L1 adaptive control as a verifiable robust adaptive control architecture with the potential of reducing flight control design costs and facilitating the transition of adaptive control into advanced flight control systems.

The Case of Nuclear Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koroteev, Anatoly S.; Ponomarev-Stepnoi, Nicolai N.; Smetannikov, Vladimir P.; Gafarov, Albert A.; Houts, Mike; VanDyke, Melissa; Godfroy, Tom; Martin, James; Bragg-Sitton, Shannon; Dickens, Ricky

2003-01-01

Fission technology can enable rapid, affordable access to any point in the solar system. If fission propulsion systems are to be developed to their full potential; however, near-term customers must be identified and initial fission systems successfully developed, launched, and utilized. Successful utilization will simultaneously develop the infrastructure and experience necessary for developing even higher power and performance systems. To be successful, development programs must devise strategies for rapidly converting paper reactor concepts into actual flight hardware. One approach to accomplishing this is to design highly testable systems, and to structure the program to contain frequent, significant hardware milestones. This paper discusses ongoing efforts in Russia and the United States aimed at enabling near-term utilization of space fission systems.

Reflight certification software design specifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The PDSS/IMC Software Design Specification for the Payload Development Support System (PDSS)/Image Motion Compensator (IMC) is contained. The PDSS/IMC is to be used for checkout and verification of the IMC flight hardware and software by NASA/MSFC.

The design of flight hardware: Organizational and technical ideas from the MITRE/WPI Shuttle Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Looft, F. J.

1986-01-01

The Mitre Corporation of Bedford Mass. and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute are developing several experiments for a future Shuttle flight. Several design practices for the development of the electrical equipment for the flight hardware have been standardized. Some of the ideas are presented, not as hard and fast rules but rather in the interest of stimulating discussions for sharing such ideas.

Digital Autonomous Terminal Access Communication (DATAC) system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Novacki, Stanley M., III

1987-01-01

In order to accommodate the increasing number of computerized subsystems aboard today's more fuel efficient aircraft, the Boeing Co. has developed the DATAC (Digital Autonomous Terminal Access Control) bus to minimize the need for point-to-point wiring to interconnect these various systems, thereby reducing total aircraft weight and maintaining an economical flight configuration. The DATAC bus is essentially a local area network providing interconnections for any of the flight management and control systems aboard the aircraft. The task of developing a Bus Monitor Unit was broken down into four subtasks: (1) providing a hardware interface between the DATAC bus and the Z8000-based microcomputer system to be used as the bus monitor; (2) establishing a communication link between the Z8000 system and a CP/M-based computer system; (3) generation of data reduction and display software to output data to the console device; and (4) development of a DATAC Terminal Simulator to facilitate testing of the hardware and software which transfer data between the DATAC's bus and the operator's console in a near real time environment. These tasks are briefly discussed.

Use of Heritage Hardware on Orion MPCV Exploration Flight Test One

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rains, George Edward; Cross, Cynthia D.

2012-01-01

Due to an aggressive schedule for the first space flight of an unmanned Orion capsule, currently known as Exploration Flight Test One (EFT1), combined with severe programmatic funding constraints, an effort was made within the Orion Program to identify heritage hardware, i.e., already existing, flight-certified components from previous manned space programs, which might be available for use on EFT1. With the end of the Space Shuttle Program, no current means exists to launch Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs) to the International Space Station (ISS), and so the inventory of many flight-certified Shuttle and MPLM components are available for other purposes. Two of these items are the MPLM cabin Positive Pressure Relief Assembly (PPRA), and the Shuttle Ground Support Equipment Heat Exchanger (GSE HX). In preparation for the utilization of these components by the Orion Program, analyses and testing of the hardware were performed. The PPRA had to be analyzed to determine its susceptibility to pyrotechnic shock, and vibration testing had to be performed, since those environments are predicted to be more severe during an Orion mission than those the hardware was originally designed to accommodate. The GSE HX had to be tested for performance with the Orion thermal working fluids, which are different from those used by the Space Shuttle. This paper summarizes the activities required in order to utilize heritage hardware for EFT1.

Use of Heritage Hardware on MPCV Exploration Flight Test One

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rains, George Edward; Cross, Cynthia D.

2011-01-01

Due to an aggressive schedule for the first orbital test flight of an unmanned Orion capsule, known as Exploration Flight Test One (EFT1), combined with severe programmatic funding constraints, an effort was made to identify heritage hardware, i.e., already existing, flight-certified components from previous manned space programs, which might be available for use on EFT1. With the end of the Space Shuttle Program, no current means exists to launch Multi Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs) to the International Space Station (ISS), and so the inventory of many flight-certified Shuttle and MPLM components are available for other purposes. Two of these items are the Shuttle Ground Support Equipment Heat Exchanger (GSE Hx) and the MPLM cabin Positive Pressure Relief Assembly (PPRA). In preparation for the utilization of these components by the Orion Program, analyses and testing of the hardware were performed. The PPRA had to be analyzed to determine its susceptibility to pyrotechnic shock, and vibration testing had to be performed, since those environments are predicted to be significantly more severe during an Orion mission than those the hardware was originally designed to accommodate. The GSE Hx had to be tested for performance with the Orion thermal working fluids, which are different from those used by the Space Shuttle. This paper summarizes the certification of the use of heritage hardware for EFT1.

Environmental qualification testing of payload G-534, the Pool Boiling Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sexton, J. Andrew

1992-01-01

Payload G-534, the prototype Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE), is scheduled to fly on the STS-47 mission in September 1992. This paper describes the purpose of the experiment and the environmental qualification testing program that was used to prove the integrity of the hardware. Component and box level vibration and thermal cycling tests were performed to give an early level of confidence in the hardware designs. At the system level, vibration, thermal extreme soaks, and thermal vacuum cycling tests were performed to qualify the complete design for the expected shuttle environment. The system level vibration testing included three axis sine sweeps and random inputs. The system level hot and cold soak tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate over a wide range of temperatures and gave wider latitude in determining which shuttle thermal attitudes were compatible with the experiment. The system level thermal vacuum cycling tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate in a convection free environment. A unique environmental chamber was designed and fabricated by the PBE team and allowed most of the environmental testing to be performed within the hardware build laboratory. The completion of the test program gave the project team high confidence in the hardware's ability to function as designed during flight.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-01

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is responsible for designing and building the life support systems that will provide the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) a comfortable environment in which to live and work. Scientists and engineers at the MSFC are working together to provide the ISS with systems that are safe, efficient, and cost-effective. These compact and powerful systems are collectively called the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems, or simply, ECLSS. This photograph shows the development Water Processor located in two racks in the ECLSS test area at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Actual waste water, simulating Space Station waste, is generated and processed through the hardware to evaluate the performance of technologies in the flight Water Processor design.

Use of an adaptable cell culture kit for performing lymphocyte and monocyte cell cultures in microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hatton, J. P.; Lewis, M. L.; Roquefeuil, S. B.; Chaput, D.; Cazenave, J. P.; Schmitt, D. A.

1998-01-01

The results of experiments performed in recent years on board facilities such as the Space Shuttle/Spacelab have demonstrated that many cell systems, ranging from simple bacteria to mammalian cells, are sensitive to the microgravity environment, suggesting gravity affects fundamental cellular processes. However, performing well-controlled experiments aboard spacecraft offers unique challenges to the cell biologist. Although systems such as the European 'Biorack' provide generic experiment facilities including an incubator, on-board 1-g reference centrifuge, and contained area for manipulations, the experimenter must still establish a system for performing cell culture experiments that is compatible with the constraints of spaceflight. Two different cell culture kits developed by the French Space Agency, CNES, were recently used to perform a series of experiments during four flights of the 'Biorack' facility aboard the Space Shuttle. The first unit, Generic Cell Activation Kit 1 (GCAK-1), contains six separate culture units per cassette, each consisting of a culture chamber, activator chamber, filtration system (permitting separation of cells from supernatant in-flight), injection port, and supernatant collection chamber. The second unit (GCAK-2) also contains six separate culture units, including a culture, activator, and fixation chambers. Both hardware units permit relatively complex cell culture manipulations without extensive use of spacecraft resources (crew time, volume, mass, power), or the need for excessive safety measures. Possible operations include stimulation of cultures with activators, separation of cells from supernatant, fixation/lysis, manipulation of radiolabelled reagents, and medium exchange. Investigations performed aboard the Space Shuttle in six different experiments used Jurkat, purified T-cells or U937 cells, the results of which are reported separately. We report here the behaviour of Jurkat and U937 cells in the GCAK hardware in ground-based investigations simulating the conditions expected in the flight experiment. Several parameters including cell concentration, time between cell loading and activation, and storage temperature on cell survival were examined to characterise cell response and optimise the experiments to be flown aboard the Space Shuttle. Results indicate that the objectives of the experiments could be met with delays up to 5 days between cell loading into the hardware and initial in flight experiment activation, without the need for medium exchange. Experiment hardware of this kind, which is adaptable to a wide range of cell types and can be easily interfaced to different spacecraft facilities, offers the possibility for a wide range of experimenters successfully and easily to utilise future flight opportunities.

Defining Exercise Performance Metrics for Flight Hardware Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyene, Nahon M.

2004-01-01

The space industry has prevailed over numerous design challenges in the spirit of exploration. Manned space flight entails creating products for use by humans and the Johnson Space Center has pioneered this effort as NASA's center for manned space flight. NASA Astronauts use a suite of flight exercise hardware to maintain strength for extravehicular activities and to minimize losses in muscle mass and bone mineral density. With a cycle ergometer, treadmill, and the Resistive Exercise Device available on the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Medicine community aspires to reproduce physical loading schemes that match exercise performance in Earth s gravity. The resistive exercise device presents the greatest challenge with the duty of accommodating 20 different exercises and many variations on the core set of exercises. This paper presents a methodology for capturing engineering parameters that can quantify proper resistive exercise performance techniques. For each specified exercise, the method provides engineering parameters on hand spacing, foot spacing, and positions of the point of load application at the starting point, midpoint, and end point of the exercise. As humans vary in height and fitness levels, the methodology presents values as ranges. In addition, this method shows engineers the proper load application regions on the human body. The methodology applies to resistive exercise in general and is in use for the current development of a Resistive Exercise Device. Exercise hardware systems must remain available for use and conducive to proper exercise performance as a contributor to mission success. The astronauts depend on exercise hardware to support extended stays aboard the ISS. Future plans towards exploration of Mars and beyond acknowledge the necessity of exercise. Continuous improvement in technology and our understanding of human health maintenance in space will allow us to support the exploration of Mars and the future of space exploration.

Synthetic Flight Training System Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-23

Distribution unlimited IC. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTiS - 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reveree side if necoeeary and Identify by block nunber) Visual Systems Computer ...platforms, instructional features, computer hardware and software, student stations, etc. DOR 1473 EDITON OF INMOV6S ISOSOLETE Unclassified SECURITY... Computational Systems .................................... 4-I I 4.5.3 Visual Processing Systems .......................... 4-13 4.5.4 Instructor Stations

Flight Test of Propulsion Monitoring and Diagnostic System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gabel, Steve; Elgersma, Mike

2002-01-01

The objective of this program was to perform flight tests of the propulsion monitoring and diagnostic system (PMDS) technology concept developed by Honeywell under the NASA Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE) program. The PMDS concept is intended to independently monitor the performance of the engine, providing continuous status to the pilot along with warnings if necessary as well as making the data available to ground maintenance personnel via a special interface. These flight tests were intended to demonstrate the ability of the PMDS concept to detect a class of selected sensor hardware failures, and the ability to successfully model the engine for the purpose of engine diagnosis.

Acquisition/expulsion system for earth orbital propulsion system study. Volume 4: Flight test article

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Two orbital test plans were prepared to verify one of the passive cryogenic storage tank/feedline candidate designs. One plan considered the orbital test article to be launched as a dedicated payload using an Atlas F burner launching configuration. The second plan proposed to launch the orbital test article as a secondary payload on the Titan E/Centaur proof flight. The secondary payload concept was pursued until January 1973, when work to build the hardware for this phase of the contract was terminated for lack of a sponsor for the flight. The dedicated payload launched on an Atlas F is described.

Orion Stage Adapter move to Redstone Airfield

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft arrives to the U.S. Army’s Redstone Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, April 2, to pick up flight hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System – its new, deep-space rocket that will enable astronauts to begin their journey to explore destinations far into the solar system. The Guppy will depart on Tuesday, April 3 to deliver the Orion stage adapter to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for flight preparations. On Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of the SLS and the Orion spacecraft, the adapter will connect Orion to the rocket and carry 13 CubeSats as secondary payloads.

Orion Stage Adapter move to Redstone Airfield

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-02

Caption: NASA's Super Guppy aircraft arrives to the U.S. Army’s Redstone Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, April 2, to pick up flight hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System – its new, deep-space rocket that will enable astronauts to begin their journey to explore destinations far into the solar system. The Guppy will depart on Tuesday, April 3 to deliver the Orion stage adapter to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for flight preparations. On Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of the SLS and the Orion spacecraft, the adapter will connect Orion to the rocket and carry 13 CubeSats as secondary payloads.

MSFC Skylab program engineering and integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

A technical history and managerial critique of the MSFC role in the Skylab program is presented. The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center had primary hardware development responsibility for the Saturn Workshop Modules and many of the designated experiments in addition to the system integration responsibility for the entire Skylab Orbital Cluster. The report also includes recommendations and conclusions applicable to hardware design, test program philosophy and performance, and program management techniques with potential application to future programs.

Animal experimentation in Spacelab - Present and future U.S. plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berry, W. E.; Dant, C. C.

1983-01-01

Current development of life-sciences hardware and experiments for the fourth Spacelab mission in the Life Sciences Flight Experiments Program at NASA Ames is reviewed. The research-animal holding facility, the general-purpose work station, and the life sciences laboratory equipment are characterized, and the 14 Ames projects accepted for the mission are listed and discussed. Several hardware systems and experimental procedures will be verified on the Spacelab-3 mission scheduled for late 1984.

Hopkins works with the MDCA hardware replacement, and CIR maintenance

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-12-31

ISS038-E-024145 (30 Dec. 2013) --- NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, Expedition 38 flight engineer, performs in-flight maintenance on combustion research hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. Hopkins replaced a Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) fuel reservoir inside the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR).

KSC-04pd1754

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - United Space Alliance employee Terry White inspects plastic-covered flight hardware in the Orbiter Processing Facility following Hurricane Frances. The storm's path over Florida took it through Cape Canaveral and KSC property during Labor Day weekend. There was no damage to the Space Shuttle orbiters or to any other flight hardware.

J-2X Gas Generator Development Testing at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, D. C.; Hormonzian, Carlo

2010-01-01

NASA is developing a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen rocket engine for upper stage and trans-lunar applications of the Ares vehicles for the Constellation program. This engine, designated the J-2X, is a higher pressure, higher thrust variant of the Apollo-era J-2 engine. Development was contracted to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in 2006. Over the past several years, two phases of testing have been completed on the development of the gas generator for the J-2X engine. The hardware has progressed through a variety of workhorse injector, chamber, and feed system configurations. Several of these configurations have resulted in combustion instability of the gas generator assembly. Development of the final configuration of workhorse hardware (which will ultimately be used to verify critical requirements on a component level) has required a balance between changes in the injector and chamber hardware in order to successfully mitigate the combustion instability without sacrificing other engine system requirements. This paper provides an overview of the two completed test series, performed at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center. The requirements, facility setup, hardware configurations, and test series progression are detailed. Significant levels of analysis have been performed in order to provide design solutions to mitigate the combustion stability issues, and these are briefly covered. Also discussed are the results of analyses related to either anomalous readings or off-nominal testing throughout the two test series.

Environmental qualification testing of the prototype pool boiling experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sexton, J. Andrew

1992-01-01

The prototype Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) flew on the STS-47 mission in September 1992. This report describes the purpose of the experiment and the environmental qualification testing program that was used to prove the integrity of the prototype hardware. Component and box level vibration and thermal cycling tests were performed to give an early level of confidence in the hardware designs. At the system level, vibration, thermal extreme soaks, and thermal vacuum cycling tests were performed to qualify the complete design for the expected shuttle environment. The system level vibration testing included three axis sine sweeps and random inputs. The system level hot and cold soak tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate over a wide range of temperatures and gave the project team a wider latitude in determining which shuttle thermal altitudes were compatible with the experiment. The system level thermal vacuum cycling tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate in a convection free environment. A unique environmental chamber was designed and fabricated by the PBE team and allowed most of the environmental testing to be performed within the project's laboratory. The completion of the test program gave the project team high confidence in the hardware's ability to function as designed during flight.

Description of the microbial ecology evaluation device, flight equipment, and ground transporter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chassay, C. E.; Taylor, G. R.

1973-01-01

Exposure of test systems in space required the fabrication of specialized hardware termed a Microbial Ecology Evaluation Device that had individual test chambers and a complex optical filter system. The characteristics of this device and the manner in which it was deployed in space are described.

Design and Analysis of an Axisymmetric Phased Array Fed Gregorian Reflector System for Limited Scanning

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-22

applications. For space applications, attitude control systems can provide good angular control of the antenna aperture with small residual angular...Bilyeu, and G.R. Veal, Development of Flight Hardware for a Large Inflatable- Deployable Antenna Experiment , Acta Astronautica, Vol. 38, Nos. 4-8

Development and operation of a real-time data acquisition system for the NASA-LaRC differential absorption lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, C.

1985-01-01

Computer hardware and software of the NASA multipurpose differential absorption lidar (DIAL) sysatem were improved. The NASA DIAL system is undergoing development and experimental deployment for remote measurement of atmospheric trace gas concentration from ground and aircraft platforms. A viable DIAL system was developed with the capability of remotely measuring O3 and H2O concentrations from an aircraft platform. Test flights were successfully performed on board the NASA/Goddard Flight Center Electra aircraft from 1980 to 1984. Improvements on the DIAL data acquisition system (DAS) are described.

Emergency Flight Control Using Computer-Controlled Thrust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.; Fullerton, C. Gordon; Stewart, James F.; Gilyard, Glenn B.; Conley, Joseph A.

1995-01-01

Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) systems are digital electronic control systems undergoing development to provide limited maneuvering ability through variations of individual engine thrusts in multiple-engine airplanes. Provide landing capability when control surfaces inoperable. Incorporated on existing and future airplanes that include digital engine controls, digital flight controls, and digital data buses, adding no weight for additional hardware to airplane. Possible to handle total failure of hydraulic system, depending on how surfaces respond to loss of hydraulic pressure, and broken control cables or linkages. Future airplanes incorporate data from Global Positioning System for guidance to any suitable emergency runway in world.

Concept of a programmable maintenance processor applicable to multiprocessing systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glover, Richard D.

1988-01-01

A programmable maintenance processor concept applicable to multiprocessing systems has been developed at the NASA Ames Research Center's Dryden Flight Research Facility. This stand-alone-processor is intended to provide support for system and application software testing as well as hardware diagnostics. An initial machanization has been incorporated into the extended aircraft interrogation and display system (XAIDS) which is multiprocessing general-purpose ground support equipment. The XAIDS maintenance processor has independent terminal and printer interfaces and a dedicated magnetic bubble memory that stores system test sequences entered from the terminal. This report describes the hardware and software embodied in this processor and shows a typical application in the check-out of a new XAIDS.

Welding process modelling and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romine, Peter L.; Adenwala, Jinen A.

1993-01-01

The research and analysis performed, and software developed, and hardware/software recommendations made during 1992 in development of the PC-based data acquisition system for support of Welding Process Modeling and Control is reported. A need was identified by the Metals Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, for a mobile data aquisition and analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC-based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS) is a dedicated instrument, strictly for the use of data aquisition and analysis. Although the WMS supports many of the functions associated with the process control, it is not the intention for this system to be used for welding process control.

Advances in time-of-flight PET

PubMed Central

Surti, Suleman; Karp, Joel S.

2016-01-01

This paper provides a review and an update on time-of-flight PET imaging with a focus on PET instrumentation, ranging from hardware design to software algorithms. We first present a short introduction to PET, followed by a description of TOF PET imaging and its history from the early days. Next, we introduce the current state-of-art in TOF PET technology and briefly summarize the benefits of TOF PET imaging. This is followed by a discussion of the various technological advancements in hardware (scintillators, photo-sensors, electronics) and software (image reconstruction) that have led to the current widespread use of TOF PET technology, and future developments that have the potential for further improvements in the TOF imaging performance. We conclude with a discussion of some new research areas that have opened up in PET imaging as a result of having good system timing resolution, ranging from new algorithms for attenuation correction, through efficient system calibration techniques, to potential for new PET system designs. PMID:26778577

In-flight measurements of propeller blade deformation on a VUT100 cobra aeroplane using a co-rotating camera system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boden, F.; Stasicki, B.; Szypuła, M.; Ružička, P.; Tvrdik, Z.; Ludwikowski, K.

2016-07-01

Knowledge of propeller or rotor blade behaviour under real operating conditions is crucial for optimizing the performance of a propeller or rotor system. A team of researchers, technicians and engineers from Avia Propeller, DLR, EVEKTOR and HARDsoft developed a rotating stereo camera system dedicated to in-flight blade deformation measurements. The whole system, co-rotating with the propeller at its full speed and hence exposed to high centrifugal forces and strong vibration, had been successfully tested on an EVEKTOR VUT 100 COBRA aeroplane in Kunovice (CZ) within the project AIM2—advanced in-flight measurement techniques funded by the European Commission (contract no. 266107). This paper will describe the work, starting from drawing the first sketch of the system up to performing the successful flight test. Apart from a description of the measurement hardware and the applied IPCT method, the paper will give some impressions of the flight test activities and discuss the results obtained from the measurements.

Flight set 360L007 (STS-33R) field joint protection system, thermal protection system, and systems tunnel components, volume 7

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The performance of the thermal protection system, field joint protection system, and systems tunnel components of flight set 360L007 is presented as evaluated by postflight hardware inspection. The condition of both motors was similar to previous flights. Four aft edge strikes were noted on the ground environment instrumentation thermal protection system. The hits all left a clean substrate, indicating that the damage was caused by nozzle severance debris and/or water impact. No National Space Transportation System debris criteria for missing thermal protection system were violated. Two problem reports were written against the field joint protection system. The first concerned two cracks in the K5NA closeout over the trunnion/vent valve location on the left-hand aft field joint. A similar condition was observed on Flight 5 (360H005). The second problem report referred to a number of small surface cracks between two impact marks on the left-hand forward field joint. Neither area exhibited loose material or any abnormal heat effects, and they have no impact on flight safety.

Design and Analysis of Morpheus Lander Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jang, Jiann-Woei; Yang, Lee; Fritz, Mathew; Nguyen, Louis H.; Johnson, Wyatt R.; Hart, Jeremy J.

2014-01-01

The Morpheus Lander is a vertical takeoff and landing test bed vehicle developed to demonstrate the system performance of the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) system capability for the integrated autonomous landing and hazard avoidance system hardware and software. The Morpheus flight control system design must be robust to various mission profiles. This paper presents a design methodology for employing numerical optimization to develop the Morpheus flight control system. The design objectives include attitude tracking accuracy and robust stability with respect to rigid body dynamics and propellant slosh. Under the assumption that the Morpheus time-varying dynamics and control system can be frozen over a short period of time, the flight controllers are designed to stabilize all selected frozen-time control systems in the presence of parametric uncertainty. Both control gains in the inner attitude control loop and guidance gains in the outer position control loop are designed to maximize the vehicle performance while ensuring robustness. The flight control system designs provided herein have been demonstrated to provide stable control systems in both Draper Ares Stability Analysis Tool (ASAT) and the NASA/JSC Trick-based Morpheus time domain simulation.

The SR-71 Test Bed Aircraft: A Facility for High-Speed Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corda, Stephen; Moes, Timothy R.; Mizukami, Masashi; Hass, Neal E.; Jones, Daniel; Monaghan, Richard C.; Ray, Ronald J.; Jarvis, Michele L.; Palumbo, Nathan

2000-01-01

The SR-71 test bed aircraft is shown to be a unique platform to flight-test large experiments to supersonic Mach numbers. The test bed hardware mounted on the SR-71 upper fuselage is described. This test bed hardware is composed of a fairing structure called the "canoe" and a large "reflection plane" flat plate for mounting experiments. Total experiment weights, including the canoe and reflection plane, as heavy as 14,500 lb can be mounted on the aircraft and flight-tested to speeds as fast as Mach 3.2 and altitudes as high as 80,000 ft. A brief description of the SR-71 aircraft is given, including details of the structural modifications to the fuselage, modifications to the J58 engines to provide increased thrust, and the addition of a research instrumentation system. Information is presented based on flight data that describes the SR-71 test bed aerodynamics, stability and control, structural and thermal loads, the canoe internal environment, and reflection plane flow quality. Guidelines for designing SR-71 test bed experiments are also provided.

The optical fiber array bundle assemblies for the NASA lunar reconnaissance orbiter; evaluation lessons learned for flight implementation from the NASA electronic parts and packaging program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ott, Melanie N.; Switzer, Robert; Chuska, Richard; LaRocca, Frank; Thomes, William J.; Day, Lance W.; MacMurphy, Shawn

2017-11-01

The United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Fiber Optics Team in the Electrical Engineering Division of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, designed, developed and integrated the space flight optical fiber array hardware assemblies for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The two new assemblies that were designed and manufacturing at NASA GSFC for the LRO exist in configurations that are unique in the world for the application of ranging and lidar. These assemblies were developed in coordination with Diamond Switzerland, and the NASA GSFC Mechanical Systems Division. The assemblies represent a strategic enhancement for NASA's Laser Ranging and Laser Radar (LIDAR) instrument hardware by allowing light to be moved to alternative locations that were not feasible in past space flight implementations. An account will be described of the journey and the lessons learned from design to integration for the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Laser Ranging Application on the LRO. The LRO is scheduled to launch end of 2008.

Hardware fault insertion and instrumentation system: Mechanization and validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benson, J. W.

1987-01-01

Automated test capability for extensive low-level hardware fault insertion testing is developed. The test capability is used to calibrate fault detection coverage and associated latency times as relevant to projecting overall system reliability. Described are modifications made to the NASA Ames Reconfigurable Flight Control System (RDFCS) Facility to fully automate the total test loop involving the Draper Laboratories' Fault Injector Unit. The automated capability provided included the application of sequences of simulated low-level hardware faults, the precise measurement of fault latency times, the identification of fault symptoms, and bulk storage of test case results. A PDP-11/60 served as a test coordinator, and a PDP-11/04 as an instrumentation device. The fault injector was controlled by applications test software in the PDP-11/60, rather than by manual commands from a terminal keyboard. The time base was especially developed for this application to use a variety of signal sources in the system simulator.

NASA Space Flight Vehicle Fault Isolation Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bramon, Christopher; Inman, Sharon K.; Neeley, James R.; Jones, James V.; Tuttle, Loraine

2016-01-01

The Space Launch System (SLS) is the new NASA heavy lift launch vehicle and is scheduled for its first mission in 2017. The goal of the first mission, which will be uncrewed, is to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft before a crewed flight in 2021. SLS has many of the same logistics challenges as any other large scale program. Common logistics concerns for SLS include integration of discrete programs geographically separated, multiple prime contractors with distinct and different goals, schedule pressures and funding constraints. However, SLS also faces unique challenges. The new program is a confluence of new hardware and heritage, with heritage hardware constituting seventy-five percent of the program. This unique approach to design makes logistics concerns such as testability of the integrated flight vehicle especially problematic. The cost of fully automated diagnostics can be completely justified for a large fleet, but not so for a single flight vehicle. Fault detection is mandatory to assure the vehicle is capable of a safe launch, but fault isolation is another issue. SLS has considered various methods for fault isolation which can provide a reasonable balance between adequacy, timeliness and cost. This paper will address the analyses and decisions the NASA Logistics engineers are making to mitigate risk while providing a reasonable testability solution for fault isolation.

Precision Cleaning and Verification Processes Used at Marshall Space Flight Center for Critical Hardware Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, Salvadore V.; Cox, Jack A.; McGee, Kathleen A.

1998-01-01

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration performs many research and development programs that require hardware and assemblies to be cleaned to levels that are compatible with fuels and oxidizers (liquid oxygen, solid propellants, etc.). Also, MSFC is responsible for developing large telescope satellites which require a variety of optical systems to be cleaned. A precision cleaning shop is operated within MSFC by the Fabrication Services Division of the Materials & Processes Laboratory. Verification of cleanliness is performed for all precision cleaned articles in the Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Branch. Since the Montreal Protocol was instituted, MSFC had to find substitutes for many materials that have been in use for many years, including cleaning agents and organic solvents. As MSFC is a research center, there is a great variety of hardware that is processed in the Precision Cleaning Shop. This entails the use of many different chemicals and solvents, depending on the nature and configuration of the hardware and softgoods being cleaned. A review of the manufacturing cleaning and verification processes, cleaning materials and solvents used at MSFC and changes that resulted from the Montreal Protocol will be presented.

Precision Cleaning and Verification Processes Used at Marshall Space Flight Center for Critical Hardware Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, Salvadore V.

1999-01-01

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) performs many research and development programs that require hardware and assemblies to be cleaned to levels that are compatible with fuels and oxidizers (liquid oxygen, solid propellants, etc.). Also, the Center is responsible for developing large telescope satellites which requires a variety of optical systems to be cleaned. A precision cleaning shop is operated with-in MSFC by the Fabrication Services Division of the Materials & Processes Division. Verification of cleanliness is performed for all precision cleaned articles in the Analytical Chemistry Branch. Since the Montreal Protocol was instituted, MSFC had to find substitutes for many materials that has been in use for many years, including cleaning agents and organic solvents. As MSFC is a research Center, there is a great variety of hardware that is processed in the Precision Cleaning Shop. This entails the use of many different chemicals and solvents, depending on the nature and configuration of the hardware and softgoods being cleaned. A review of the manufacturing cleaning and verification processes, cleaning materials and solvents used at MSFC and changes that resulted from the Montreal Protocol will be presented.

P-MASS and P-GBA: Two new hardware developments for growing plants in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoehn, Alexander; Luttges, Marvin W.; Robinson, Michael C.; Stodieck, Louis S.; Kliss, Mark H.

1994-01-01

Plant growth, and especially plant performance experiments in microgravity are limited by the currently available plant growth facilities (low light levels, inadequate nutrient delivery and atmosphere conditioning systems, insufficient science instrumentation, infrequent flight opportunities). In addition, mission durations of 10 to 14 days aboard the NSTS Space Shuttle allow for only brief periods of microgravity exposure with respect to the life cycle of a plant. Based on seed germination experiments, using the Generic BioProcessing Apparatus hardware (GBA), two new payloads have been designed specifically for plant growth. These payloads provide new opportunities for plant gravitational and space biology research and emphasize the investigation of plant performance (photosynthesis, biomass accumulations) in microgravity. The Plant-Module for Autonomous Space Support (P-MASS) was designed to utilize microgravity exposure times in excess of 30 days on the first flight of the recoverable COMET satellite (Commercial Experiment Transporter). The Plant-Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (P-GBA), is designed for the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) Space Shuttle middeck and the SPACEHAB environment. The P-GBA is an evolution from the GBA hardware and P-MASS (plant chamber and instrumentation). The available light levels of both payloads more than double currently available capabilities.

The use of real-time, hardware-in-the-loop simulation in the design and development of the new Hughes HS601 spacecraft attitude control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slafer, Loren I.

1989-01-01

Realtime simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing is being used extensively in all phases of the design, development, and testing of the attitude control system (ACS) for the new Hughes HS601 satellite bus. Realtime, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, integrated with traditional analysis and pure simulation activities is shown to provide a highly efficient and productive overall development program. Implementation of high fidelity simulations of the satellite dynamics and control system algorithms, capable of real-time execution (using applied Dynamics International's System 100), provides a tool which is capable of being integrated with the critical flight microprocessor to create a mixed simulation test (MST). The MST creates a highly accurate, detailed simulated on-orbit test environment, capable of open and closed loop ACS testing, in which the ACS design can be validated. The MST is shown to provide a valuable extension of traditional test methods. A description of the MST configuration is presented, including the spacecraft dynamics simulation model, sensor and actuator emulators, and the test support system. Overall system performance parameters are presented. MST applications are discussed; supporting ACS design, developing on-orbit system performance predictions, flight software development and qualification testing (augmenting the traditional software-based testing), mission planning, and a cost-effective subsystem-level acceptance test. The MST is shown to provide an ideal tool in which the ACS designer can fly the spacecraft on the ground.

Implementation of an Adaptive Controller System from Concept to Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Richard R.; Burken, John J.; Butler, Bradley S.; Yokum, Steve

2009-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) is conducting ongoing flight research using adaptive controller algorithms. A highly modified McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B airplane called the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) is used to test and develop these algorithms. Modifications to this airplane include adding canards and changing the flight control systems to interface a single-string research controller processor for neural network algorithms. Research goals include demonstration of revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance in both normal and failure conditions and advancement of neural-network-based flight control technology for new aerospace system designs. This report presents an overview of the processes utilized to develop adaptive controller algorithms during a flight-test program, including a description of initial adaptive controller concepts and a discussion of modeling formulation and performance testing. Design finalization led to integration with the system interfaces, verification of the software, validation of the hardware to the requirements, design of failure detection, development of safety limiters to minimize the effect of erroneous neural network commands, and creation of flight test control room displays to maximize human situational awareness; these are also discussed.

Smart Payload Development for High Data Rate Instrument Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pingree, Paula J.; Norton, Charles D.

2007-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development of smart payloads instruments systems with high data rates. On-board computation has become a bottleneck for advanced science instrument and engineering capabilities. In order to improve the computation capability on board, smart payloads have been proposed. A smart payload is a Localized instrument, that can offload the flight processor of extensive computing cycles, simplify the interfaces, and minimize the dependency of the instrument on the flight system. This has been proposed for the Mars mission, Mars Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (MATMOS). The design of this system is discussed; the features of the Virtex-4, are discussed, and the technical approach is reviewed. The proposed Hybrid Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology has been shown to deliver breakthrough performance by tightly coupling hardware and software. Smart Payload designs for instruments such as MATMOS can meet science data return requirements with more competitive use of available on-board resources and can provide algorithm acceleration in hardware leading to implementation of better (more advanced) algorithms in on-board systems for improved science data return

Modeling and HIL Simulation of Flight Conditions Simulating Control System for the Altitude Test Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jun; Shen, Li; Zhang, Tianhong

2016-12-01

Simulated altitude test is an essential exploring, debugging, verification and validation means during the development of aero-engine. Free-jet engine test can simulate actual working conditions of aero-engine more realistically than direct-connect engine test but with relatively lower cost compared to propulsion wind tunnel test, thus becoming an important developing area of simulated altitude test technology. The Flight Conditions Simulating Control System (FCSCS) is of great importance to the Altitude Test Facility (ATF) but the development of that is a huge challenge. Aiming at improving the design efficiency and reducing risks during the development of FCSCS for ATFs, a Hardware- in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation system was designed and the mathematical models of key components such as the pressure stabilizing chamber, free-jet nozzle, control valve and aero-engine were built in this paper. Moreover, some HIL simulation experiments were carried out. The results show that the HIL simulation system designed and established in this paper is reasonable and effective, which can be used to adjust control parameters conveniently and assess the software and hardware in the control system immediately.

Age Life Evaluation of Space Shuttle Crew Escape System Pyrotechnic Components Loaded with Hexanitrostilbene (HNS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, William C., III

1996-01-01

Determining deterioration characteristics of the Space Shuttle crew escape system pyrotechnic components loaded with hexanitrostilbene would enable us to establish a hardware life-limit for these items, so we could better plan our equipment use and, possibly, extend the useful life of the hardware. We subjected components to accelerated-age environments to determine degradation characteristics and established a hardware life-limit based upon observed and calculated trends. We extracted samples using manufacturing lots currently installed in the Space Shuttle crew escape system and from other NASA programs. Hardware included in the study consisted of various forms and ages of mild detonating fuse, linear shaped charge, and flexible confined detonating cord. The hardware types were segregated into 5 groups. One was subjected to detonation velocity testing for a baseline. Two were first subjected to prolonged 155 F heat exposure, and the other two were first subjected to 255 F, before undergoing detonation velocity testing and/or chromatography analysis. Test results showed no measurable changes in performance to allow a prediction of an end of life given the storage and elevated temperature environments the hardware experiences. Given the lack of a definitive performance trend, coupled with previous tests on post-flight Space Shuttle hardware showing no significant changes in chemical purity or detonation velocity, we recommend a safe increase in the useful life of the hardware to 20 years, from the current maximum limits of 10 and 15 years, depending on the hardware.

The NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center drop tube user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rathz, Thomas J.; Robinson, Michael B.

1990-01-01

A comprehensive description of the structural and instrumentation hardware and the experimental capabilities of the 105-meter Marshall Space Flight Center Drop Tube Facility is given. This document is to serve as a guide to the investigator who wishes to perform materials processing experiments in the Drop Tube. Particular attention is given to the Tube's hardware to which an investigator must interface to perform experiments. This hardware consists of the permanent structural hardware (with such items as vacuum flanges), and the experimental hardware (with the furnaces and the sample insertion devices). Two furnaces, an electron-beam and an electromagnetic levitator, are currently used to melt metallic samples in a process environment that can range from 10(exp -6) Torr to 1 atmosphere. Details of these furnaces, the processing environment gases/vacuum, the electrical power, and data acquisition capabilities are specified to allow an investigator to design his/her experiment to maximize successful results and to reduce experimental setup time on the Tube. Various devices used to catch samples while inflicting minimum damage and to enhance turnaround time between experiments are described. Enough information is provided to allow an investigator who wishes to build his/her own furnace or sample catch devices to easily interface it to the Tube. The experimental instrumentation and data acquisition systems used to perform pre-drop and in-flight measurements of the melting and solidification process are also detailed. Typical experimental results are presented as an indicator of the type of data that is provided by the Drop Tube Facility. A summary bibliography of past Drop Tube experiments is provided, and an appendix explaining the noncontact temperature determination of free-falling drops is provided. This document is to be revised occasionally as improvements to the Facility are made and as the summary bibliography grows.

Design verification and fabrication of active control systems for the DAST ARW-2 high aspect ratio wing, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgehee, C. R.

1986-01-01

A study was conducted under Drones for Aerodynamic and Structural Testing (DAST) program to accomplish the final design and hardware fabrication for four active control systems compatible with and ready for installation in the NASA Aeroelastic Research Wing No. 2 (ARW-2) and Firebee II drone flight test vehicle. The wing structure was designed so that Active Control Systems (ACS) are required in the normal flight envelope by integrating control system design with aerodynamics and structure technologies. The DAST ARW-2 configuration uses flutter suppression, relaxed static stability, and gust and maneuver load alleviation ACS systems, and an automatic flight control system. Performance goals and criteria were applied to individual systems and the systems collectively to assure that vehicle stability margins, flutter margins, flying qualities and load reductions are achieved.

SEPAC flight software detailed design specifications, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The detailed design specifications (as built) for the SEPAC Flight Software are defined. The design includes a description of the total software system and of each individual module within the system. The design specifications describe the decomposition of the software system into its major components. The system structure is expressed in the following forms: the control-flow hierarchy of the system, the data-flow structure of the system, the task hierarchy, the memory structure, and the software to hardware configuration mapping. The component design description includes details on the following elements: register conventions, module (subroutines) invocaton, module functions, interrupt servicing, data definitions, and database structure.

Energy efficient engine low-pressure compressor component test hardware detailed design report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Michael, C. J.; Halle, J. E.

1981-01-01

The aerodynamic and mechanical design description of the low pressure compressor component of the Energy Efficient Engine were used. The component was designed to meet the requirements of the Flight Propulsion System while maintaining a low cost approach in providing a low pressure compressor design for the Integrated Core/Low Spool test required in the Energy Efficient Engine Program. The resulting low pressure compressor component design meets or exceeds all design goals with the exception of surge margin. In addition, the expense of hardware fabrication for the Integrated Core/Low Spool test has been minimized through the use of existing minor part hardware.

Exploring Surface Analysis Techniques for the Detection of Molecular Contaminants on Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rutherford, Gugu N.; Seasly, Elaine; Thornblom, Mark; Baughman, James

2016-01-01

Molecular contamination is a known area of concern for spacecraft. To mitigate this risk, projects involving space flight hardware set requirements in a contamination control plan that establishes an allocation budget for the exposure of non-volatile residues (NVR) onto critical surfaces. The purpose of this work will focus on non-contact surface analysis and in situ monitoring to mitigate molecular contamination on space flight hardware. By using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) with Raman Spectroscopy, an unlikely contaminant was identified on space flight hardware. Using traditional and surface analysis methods provided the broader view of the contamination sources allowing for best fit solutions to prevent any future exposure.

Instrumentation for In-Flight SSME Rocket Engine Plume Spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madzsar, George C.; Bickford, Randall L.; Duncan, David B.

1994-01-01

This paper describes instrumentation that is under development for an in-flight demonstration of a plume spectroscopy system on the space shuttle main engine. The instrumentation consists of a nozzle mounted optical probe for observation of the plume, and a spectrometer for identification and quantification of plume content. This instrumentation, which is intended for use as a diagnostic tool to detect wear and incipient failure in rocket engines, will be validated by a hardware demonstration on the Technology Test Bed engine at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Utilization of the Space Vision System as an Augmented Reality System For Mission Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maida, James C.; Bowen, Charles

2003-01-01

Augmented reality is a technique whereby computer generated images are superimposed on live images for visual enhancement. Augmented reality can also be characterized as dynamic overlays when computer generated images are registered with moving objects in a live image. This technique has been successfully implemented, with low to medium levels of registration precision, in an NRA funded project entitled, "Improving Human Task Performance with Luminance Images and Dynamic Overlays". Future research is already being planned to also utilize a laboratory-based system where more extensive subject testing can be performed. However successful this might be, the problem will still be whether such a technology can be used with flight hardware. To answer this question, the Canadian Space Vision System (SVS) will be tested as an augmented reality system capable of improving human performance where the operation requires indirect viewing. This system has already been certified for flight and is currently flown on each shuttle mission for station assembly. Successful development and utilization of this system in a ground-based experiment will expand its utilization for on-orbit mission operations. Current research and development regarding the use of augmented reality technology is being simulated using ground-based equipment. This is an appropriate approach for development of symbology (graphics and annotation) optimal for human performance and for development of optimal image registration techniques. It is anticipated that this technology will become more pervasive as it matures. Because we know what and where almost everything is on ISS, this reduces the registration problem and improves the computer model of that reality, making augmented reality an attractive tool, provided we know how to use it. This is the basis for current research in this area. However, there is a missing element to this process. It is the link from this research to the current ISS video system and to flight hardware capable of utilizing this technology. This is the basis for this proposed Space Human Factors Engineering project, the determination of the display symbology within the performance limits of the Space Vision System that will objectively improve human performance. This utilization of existing flight hardware will greatly reduce the costs of implementation for flight. Besides being used onboard shuttle and space station and as a ground-based system for mission operational support, it also has great potential for science and medical training and diagnostics, remote learning, team learning, video/media conferencing, and educational outreach.

An integrated user-oriented laboratory for verification of digital flight control systems: Features and capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Defeo, P.; Doane, D.; Saito, J.

1982-01-01

A Digital Flight Control Systems Verification Laboratory (DFCSVL) has been established at NASA Ames Research Center. This report describes the major elements of the laboratory, the research activities that can be supported in the area of verification and validation of digital flight control systems (DFCS), and the operating scenarios within which these activities can be carried out. The DFCSVL consists of a palletized dual-dual flight-control system linked to a dedicated PDP-11/60 processor. Major software support programs are hosted in a remotely located UNIVAC 1100 accessible from the PDP-11/60 through a modem link. Important features of the DFCSVL include extensive hardware and software fault insertion capabilities, a real-time closed loop environment to exercise the DFCS, an integrated set of software verification tools, and a user-oriented interface to all the resources and capabilities.

NASA Langley Research Center's Simulation-To-Flight Concept Accomplished through the Integration Laboratories of the Transport Research Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez, Debbie; Davidson, Paul C.; Kenney, P. Sean; Hutchinson, Brian K.

2004-01-01

The Flight Simulation and Software Branch (FSSB) at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) maintains the unique national asset identified as the Transport Research Facility (TRF). The TRF is a group of facilities and integration laboratories utilized to support the LaRC's simulation-to-flight concept. This concept incorporates common software, hardware, and processes for both groundbased flight simulators and LaRC s B-757-200 flying laboratory identified as the Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System (ARIES). These assets provide Government, industry, and academia with an efficient way to develop and test new technology concepts to enhance the capacity, safety, and operational needs of the ever-changing national airspace system. The integration of the TRF enables a smooth continuous flow of the research from simulation to actual flight test.

In-flight rain damage tests of the shuttle thermal protection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, Robert R., Jr.; Barneburg, Jack

1988-01-01

NASA conducted in-flight rain damage tests of the Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS). Most of the tests were conducted on an F-104 aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Facility of NASA's Ames Research Center, although some tests were conducted by NOAA on a WP-3D aircraft off the eastern coast of southern Florida. The TPS components tested included LI900 and LI2200 tiles, advanced flexible reusable surface insulation, reinforced carbon-carbon, and an advanced tufi tile. The objective of the test was to define the damage threshold of various thermal protection materials during flight through rain. The test hardware, test technique, and results from both F-104 and WP-3D aircraft are described. Results have shown that damage can occur to the Shuttle TPS during flight in rain.

Using Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Life Cycle Cost (LCC), and Other Metrics to Supplement Equivalent System Mass (ESM) in Advanced Life Support (ALS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2003-01-01

The ALS project plan goals are reducing cost, improving performance, and achieving flight readiness. ALS selects projects to advance the mission readiness of low cost, high performance technologies. The role of metrics is to help select good projects and report progress. The Equivalent Mass (EM) of a system is the sum of the estimated mass of the hardware, of its required materials and spares, and of the pressurized volume, power supply, and cooling system needed to support the hardware in space. EM is the total payload launch mass needed to provide and support a system. EM is directly proportional to the launch cost.

X-15 Hardware Design Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Storms, Harrison A., Jr.

1991-01-01

Historical events in the development of the X-15 hardware design are presented. Some of the topics covered include: (1) drivers that led to the development of the X-15; (2) X-15 space research objectives; (3) original performance targets; (4) the X-15 typical mission; (5) X-15 dimensions and weight; (5) the propulsion system; (6) X-15 development milestones; (7) engineering and manufacturing challenges; (8) the X-15 structure; (9) ballistic flight control; (10) landing gear; (11) nose gear; and (12) an X-15 program recap.

A Study on Aircraft Engine Control Systems for Integrated Flight and Propulsion Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamane, Hideaki; Matsunaga, Yasushi; Kusakawa, Takeshi

A flyable FADEC system engineering model incorporating Integrated Flight and Propulsion Control (IFPC) concept is developed for a highly maneuverable aircraft and a fighter-class engine. An overview of the FADEC system and functional assignments for its components such as the Engine Control Unit (ECU) and the Integrated Control Unit (ICU) are described. Overall system reliability analysis, convex analysis and multivariable controller design for the engine, fault detection/redundancy management, and response characteristics of a fuel system are addressed. The engine control performance of the FADEC is demonstrated by hardware-in-the-loop simulation for fast acceleration and thrust transient characteristics.

Krikalev with TVIS hardware in Zvezda

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-09-07

ISS011-E-12601 (7 September 2005) --- Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, Expedition 11 commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, works with the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) during In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Williams Exercises in Zvezda

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-01-13

ISS014-E-11786 (13 Jan. 2007) --- Surrounded by hardware, astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) (out of frame) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Krikalev with TVIS hardware in Zvezda

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-09-07

ISS011-E-12494 (7 September 2005) --- Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, Expedition 11 commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, works with the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) during In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Williams Exercises in Zvezda

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-01-13

ISS014-E-11784 (13 Jan. 2007) --- Surrounded by hardware, astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) (out of frame) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Reiter conducts EVA tool config in Node 1 / Unity module

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-11-16

ISS014-E-08055 (16 Nov. 2006) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, Expedition 14 flight engineer, takes inventory of hardware during an Information Management System (IMS) update in the Unity node of the International Space Station.

Modifications to the rapid melt/rapid quench and transparent polymer video furnaces for the KC-135

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Guy A.; Kosten, Sue E.; Workman, Gary L.

1990-01-01

Given here is a summary of tasks performed on two furnace systems, the Transparent Polymer (TPF) and the Rapid Melt/Rapid Quench (RMRQ) furnaces, to be used aboard NASA's KC-135. It was determined that major changes were needed for both furnaces to operate according to the scientific investigators' experiment parameters. Discussed here are what the problems were, what was required to solve the problems, and possible future enhancements. It was determined that the enhancements would be required for the furnaces to perform at their optimal levels. Services provided include hardware and software modifications, Safety DataPackage documentation, ground based testing, transportation to and from Ellington Air Field, operation of hardware during KC-135 flights, and post-flight data processing.

MSFC Skylab Orbital Workshop, volume 1. [systems analysis and equipment specifications for orbital laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The technical aspects of the Skylab-Orbital Workshop are discussed. Original concepts, goals, design philosophy, hardware, and testing are reported. The final flight configuration, overall test program, and mission performance are analyzed. The systems which are examined are: (1) the structural system, (2) the meteoroid shield systems, and (3) the environmental/thermal control subsystem.

Other Challenges in the Development of the Orbiter Environmental Control Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibb, J. W.; Mcintosh, M. E.; Heinrich, S. R.; Thomas, E.; Steele, M.; Schubert, F.; Koszenski, E. P.; Wynveen, R. A.; Murray, R. W.; Schelkopf, J. D.

1985-01-01

Development of the Space Shuttle orbiter environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) included the identification and resolution of several interesting problems in several systems. Some of these problems occurred late in the program, including the flight phase. Problems and solutions related to the ammonia boiler system (ABS), smoke detector, water/hydrogen separator, and waste collector system (WCS) are addressed.

Goddard Space Flight Center's Structural Dynamics Data Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLeod, Christopher

2004-01-01

Turnkey Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) data acquisition systems typically perform well and meet most of the objectives of the manufacturer. The problem is that they seldom meet most of the objectives of the end user. The analysis software, if any, is unlikely to be tailored to the end users specific application; and there is seldom the chance of incorporating preferred algorithms to solve unique problems. Purchasing a customized system allows the end user to get a system tailored to the actual application, but the cost can be prohibitive. Once the system has been accepted, future changes come with a cost and response time that's often not workable. When it came time to replace the primary digital data acquisition system used in the Goddard Space Flight Center's Structural Dynamics Test Section, the decision was made to use a combination of COTS hardware and in-house developed software. The COTS hardware used is the DataMAX II Instrumentation Recorder built by R.C. Electronics Inc. and a desktop Pentium 4 computer system. The in-house software was developed using MATLAB from The MathWorks. This paper will describe the design and development of the new data acquisition and analysis system.

Goddard Space Flight Center's Structural Dynamics Data Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLeod, Christopher

2004-01-01

Turnkey Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) data acquisition systems typically perform well and meet most of the objectives of the manufacturer. The problem is that they seldom meet most of the objectives of the end user. The analysis software, if any, is unlikely to be tailored to the end users specific application; and there is seldom the chance of incorporating preferred algorithms to solve unique problems. Purchasing a customized system allows the end user to get a system tailored to the actual application, but the cost can be prohibitive. Once the system has been accepted, future changes come with a cost and response time that's often not workable. When it came time to replace the primary digital data acquisition system used in the Goddard Space Flight Center's Structural Dynamics Test Section, the decision was made to use a combination of COTS hardware and in-house developed software. The COTS hardware used is the DataMAX II Instrumentation Recorder built by R.C. Electronics Inc. and a desktop Pentium 4 computer system. The in-house software was developed using MATLAF3 from The Mathworks. This paper will describe the design and development of the new data acquisition and analysis system.

An Overview of the NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowers, Albion H.; Pahle, Joseph W.; Wilson, R. Joseph; Flick, Bradley C.; Rood, Richard L.

1996-01-01

This paper gives an overview of the NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle. The three flight phases of the program are introduced, along with the specific goals and data examples taken during each phase. The aircraft configuration and systems needed to perform the disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research are discussed. The specific disciplines involved with the flight research are introduced, including aerodynamics, controls, propulsion, systems, and structures. Decisions that were made early in the planning of the aircraft project and the results of those decisions are briefly discussed. Each of the three flight phases corresponds to a particular aircraft configuration, and the research dictated the configuration to be flown. The first phase gathered data with the baseline F-18 configuration. The second phase was the thrust-vectoring phase. The third phase used a modified forebody with deployable nose strakes. Aircraft systems supporting these flights included extensive instrumentation systems, integrated research flight controls using flight control hardware and corresponding software, analog interface boxes to control forebody strakes, a thrust-vectoring system using external post-exit vanes around axisymmetric nozzles, a forebody vortex control system with strakes, and backup systems using battery-powered emergency systems and a spin recovery parachute.

A Common Approach for the Certifying of International Space Station (ISS) Basic Hardware for Ground Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirkpatrick, Paul D.; Trinchero, Jean-Pierre

2005-01-01

In order to support the International Space Station, as well as any future long term human missions, vast amounts of logistical-type hardware is required to be processed through the various launch sites. This category consists of such hardware as spare parts, replacement items, and upgraded hardware. The category also includes samples for experiments and consumables. One attribute that all these items have is they are generally non-hazardous, at least to ground personnel. Even though the items are non-hazardous, launch site ground safety has a responsibility for the protection of personnel, the flight hardware, and launch site resources. In order to fulfill this responsibility, the safety organization must have knowledge of the hardware and its operations. Conversely, the hardware providers are entitled to a process that is commensurate with the hazard. Additionally, a common system should be in place that is flexible enough to account for the requirements at all launch sites, so that, the hardware provider need only complete one process for ground safety regardless of the launch site.

Assessment team report on flight-critical systems research at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siewiorek, Daniel P. (Compiler); Dunham, Janet R. (Compiler)

1989-01-01

The quality, coverage, and distribution of effort of the flight-critical systems research program at NASA Langley Research Center was assessed. Within the scope of the Assessment Team's review, the research program was found to be very sound. All tasks under the current research program were at least partially addressing the industry needs. General recommendations made were to expand the program resources to provide additional coverage of high priority industry needs, including operations and maintenance, and to focus the program on an actual hardware and software system that is under development.

The Optical Fiber Array Bundle Assemblies for the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ott, Melanie N.; Switzer, Rob; Thomes, William Joe; Chuska, Richard; LaRocca, Frank; MacMurphy, Shawn

2008-01-01

The United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Fiber Optics Team in the Electrical Engineering Division of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, designed, developed and integrated the space flight optical fiber array hardware assemblies for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The two new assemblies that were designed and manufactured at NASA GSFC for the LRO exist in configurations that are unique in the world for the application of ranging and lidar. These assemblies were developed in coordination with Diamond Switzerland, and the NASA GSFC Mechanical Systems Division. The assemblies represent a strategic enhancement for NASA's Laser Ranging and Laser Radar (LIDAR) instrument hardware by allowing light to be moved to alternative locations that were not feasible in past space flight implementations. An account will be described of the journey and the lessons learned from design to integration for the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Laser Ranging Application on the LRO. The LRO is scheduled to launch end of 2008.

UAS-Systems Integration, Validation, and Diagnostics Simulation Capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buttrill, Catherine W.; Verstynen, Harry A.

2014-01-01

As part of the Phase 1 efforts of NASA's UAS-in-the-NAS Project a task was initiated to explore the merits of developing a system simulation capability for UAS to address airworthiness certification requirements. The core of the capability would be a software representation of an unmanned vehicle, including all of the relevant avionics and flight control system components. The specific system elements could be replaced with hardware representations to provide Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWITL) test and evaluation capability. The UAS Systems Integration and Validation Laboratory (UAS-SIVL) was created to provide a UAS-systems integration, validation, and diagnostics hardware-in-the-loop simulation capability. This paper discusses how SIVL provides a robust and flexible simulation framework that permits the study of failure modes, effects, propagation paths, criticality, and mitigation strategies to help develop safety, reliability, and design data that can assist with the development of certification standards, means of compliance, and design best practices for civil UAS.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the instrumentation subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, B. S.

1986-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The independent analysis results for the Instrumentation Subsystem are documented. The Instrumentation Subsystem (SS) consists of transducers, signal conditioning equipment, pulse code modulation (PCM) encoding equipment, tape recorders, frequency division multiplexers, and timing equipment. For this analysis, the SS is broken into two major groupings: Operational Instrumentation (OI) equipment and Modular Auxiliary Data System (MADS) equipment. The OI equipment is required to acquire, condition, scale, digitize, interleave/multiplex, format, and distribute operational Orbiter and payload data and voice for display, recording, telemetry, and checkout. It also must provide accurate timing for time critical functions for crew and payload specialist use. The MADS provides additional instrumentation to measure and record selected pressure, temperature, strain, vibration, and event data for post-flight playback and analysis. MADS data is used to assess vehicle responses to the flight environment and to permit correlation of such data from flight to flight. The IOA analysis utilized available SS hardware drawings and schematics for identifying hardware assemblies and components and their interfaces. Criticality for each item was assigned on the basis of the worst-case effect of the failure modes identified.

Application experience with the NASA aircraft interrogation and display system - A ground-support equipment for digital flight systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glover, R. D.

1983-01-01

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility has developed a microprocessor-based, user-programmable, general-purpose aircraft interrogation and display system (AIDS). The hardware and software of this ground-support equipment have been designed to permit diverse applications in support of aircraft digital flight-control systems and simulation facilities. AIDS is often employed to provide engineering-units display of internal digital system parameters during development and qualification testing. Such visibility into the system under test has proved to be a key element in the final qualification testing of aircraft digital flight-control systems. Three first-generation 8-bit units are now in service in support of several research aircraft projects, and user acceptance has been high. A second-generation design, extended AIDS (XAIDS), incorporating multiple 16-bit processors, is now being developed to support the forward swept wing aircraft project (X-29A). This paper outlines the AIDS concept, summarizes AIDS operational experience, and describes the planned XAIDS design and mechanization.

Calibration of NASA Turbulent Air Motion Measurement System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrick, John D. W.; Ritter, John A.; Watson, Catherine E.; Wynkoop, Mark W.; Quinn, John K.; Norfolk, Daniel R.

1996-01-01

A turbulent air motion measurement system (TAMMS) was integrated onboard the Lockheed 188 Electra airplane (designated NASA 429) based at the Wallops Flight Facility in support of the NASA role in global tropospheric research. The system provides air motion and turbulence measurements from an airborne platform which is capable of sampling tropospheric and planetary boundary-layer conditions. TAMMS consists of a gust probe with free-rotating vanes mounted on a 3.7-m epoxy-graphite composite nose boom, a high-resolution inertial navigation system (INS), and data acquisition system. A variation of the tower flyby method augmented with radar tracking was implemented for the calibration of static pressure position error and air temperature probe. Additional flight calibration maneuvers were performed remote from the tower in homogeneous atmospheric conditions. System hardware and instrumentation are described and the calibration procedures discussed. Calibration and flight results are presented to illustrate the overall ability of the system to determine the three-component ambient wind fields during straight and level flight conditions.

Improved orbiter waste collection system study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bastin, P. H.

1984-01-01

Design concepts for improved fecal waste collection both on the space shuttle orbiter and as a precursor for the space station are discussed. Inflight usage problems associated with the existing orbiter waste collection subsystem are considered. A basis was sought for the selection of an optimum waste collection system concept which may ultimately result in the development of an orbiter flight test article for concept verification and subsequent production of new flight hardware. Two concepts were selected for orbiter and are shown in detail. Additionally, one concept selected for application to the space station is presented.

NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, Michelle; ODonnell, Patricia

1997-01-01

The objectives of NASA's Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program is to: develop, maintain and provide tools for the validation and assessment of aerospace battery technologies; accelerate the readiness of technology advances and provide infusion paths for emerging technologies; provide NASA projects with the required database and validation guidelines for technology selection of hardware and processes relating to aerospace batteries; disseminate validation and assessment tools, quality assurance, reliability, and availability information to the NASA and aerospace battery communities; and ensure that safe, reliable batteries are available for NASA's future missions.

Bioculture System Expanding ISS Capabilities for Space Biosciences Research and Commercial Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sato, Kevin Y.

2013-01-01

Oral presentation at the ASGSR 2013 Annual Meeting. The presentation describes the NASA Bioculture System hardware design, capabilities, enabling science research capabilities, and flight concept of operations. The presentation is part of the Enabling Technologies special session and will be presented to perspective users in both academics and commercial communities.

Orion Space Hardware In-Production inside the Operations and Che

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-03

Thermal protection system panels are in view in the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion crew module for NASA’s Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) is being prepared for its first integrated flight atop the Space Launch System rocket.

General Aviation Cockpit Weather Information System Simulation Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McAdaragh, Ray; Novacek, Paul

2003-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides information on two experiments on the effectiveness of a cockpit weather information system on a simulated general aviation flight. The presentation covers the simulation hardware configuration, the display device screen layout, a mission scenario, conclusions, and recommendations. The second experiment, with its own scenario and conclusions, is a follow-on experiment.

Data Acquisition System(DAS) Sustaining Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This paper presents general information describing the Data Acquisition System contract, a summary of objectives, tasks performed and completed. The hardware deliverables which are comprised of: 1) Two ground DAS units; 2) Two flight DAS units; 3) Logistic spares; and 4) Shipping containers are described. Also included are the data requirements and scope of the contract.

Ethernet for Space Flight Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Evan; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is adapting current data networking technologies to fly on future spaceflight missions. The benefits of using commercially based networking standards and protocols have been widely discussed and are expected to include reduction in overall mission cost, shortened integration and test (I&T) schedules, increased operations flexibility, and hardware and software upgradeability/scalability with developments ongoing in the commercial world. The networking effort is a comprehensive one encompassing missions ranging from small University Explorer (UNEX) class spacecraft to large observatories such as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). Mission aspects such as flight hardware and software, ground station hardware and software, operations, RF communications, and security (physical and electronic) are all being addressed to ensure a complete end-to-end system solution. One of the current networking development efforts at GSFC is the SpaceLAN (Spacecraft Local Area Network) project, development of a space-qualifiable Ethernet network. To this end we have purchased an IEEE 802.3-compatible 10/100/1000 Media Access Control (MAC) layer Intellectual Property (IP) core and are designing a network node interface (NNI) and associated network components such as a switch. These systems will ultimately allow the replacement of the typical MIL-STD-1553/1773 and custom interfaces that inhabit most spacecraft. In this paper we will describe our current Ethernet NNI development along with a novel new space qualified physical layer that will be used in place of the standard interfaces. We will outline our plans for development of space qualified network components that will allow future spacecraft to operate in significant radiation environments while using a single onboard network for reliable commanding and data transfer. There will be a brief discussion of some issues surrounding system implications of a flight Ethernet. Finally, we will show an onboard network architecture for a proposed new mission using Ethernet for science data transport.

Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference Partnerships for Learning in the New Millennium Abstracts

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

for flight test data, and both generic and specialized tools of data filtering , data calibration, modeling , system identification, and simulation...GRAMMATICAL MODEL AND PARSER FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER’S COMMANDS 11 A SPEECH-CONTROLLED INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR SHIP FAMILIARIZATION 12... MODELING AND SIMULATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY 23 NEW COTS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REDUCE THE COST AND EFFORT IN REPLACING AGING FLIGHT SIMULATORS SUBSYSTEMS

Software Management Environment (SME) installation guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kistler, David; Jeletic, Kellyann

1992-01-01

This document contains installation information for the Software Management Environment (SME), developed for the Systems Development Branch (Code 552) of the Flight Dynamics Division of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The SME provides an integrated set of management tools that can be used by software development managers in their day-to-day management and planning activities. This document provides a list of hardware and software requirements as well as detailed installation instructions and trouble-shooting information.

Fault Tolerant Hardware/Software Architecture for Flight Critical Function

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

Applications Studies Programme. The results of AGARD work are reported to the member nations and the NATO Authorities through the AGARD series of...systems, and is being advocated as a defense against design deficiencies which can plague software. - -- -- z--mm-L ___ K A critical application area for...day of the lecture series concludes with part I of a paper on the ;use of the Ada programming language In flight critical applications . Ada has been

Report to the administrator by the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on the Skylab program. Volume 1: Summary report. [systems management evaluation and design analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Contractor and NASA technical management for the development and manufacture of the Skylab modules is reviewed with emphasis on the following management controls: configuration and interface management; vendor control; and quality control of workmanship. A review of the modified two-stage Saturn V launch vehicle which focused on modifications to accommodate the Skylab payload; resolution of prior flight anomalies; and changes in personnel and management systems is presented along with an evaluation of the possible age-life and storage problems for the Saturn 1-B launch vehicle. The NASA program management's visibility and control of contractor operations, systems engineering and integration, the review process for the evaluation of design and flight hardware, and the planning process for mission operations are investigated. It is concluded that the technical management system for development and fabrication of the modules, spacecraft, and launch vehicles, the process of design and hardware acceptance reviews, and the risk assessment activities are satisfactory. It is indicated that checkout activity, integrated testing, and preparations for and execution of mission operation require management attention.

Overview of the systems special investigation. [long duration exposure facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, James B.; Dursch, Harry; Edelman, Joel

1992-01-01

The Systems Special Investigation Group (SIG), formed by the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Project Office to perform post flight analysis of systems hardware, was chartered to investigate the effects of the extended LDEF mission on both satellite and experiment systems and to coordinate and integrate all systems analysis performed in post flight investigations. Almost all of the top level functional testing of the active experiments has been completed, but many components are still under investigation by either the Systems SIG or individual experimenters. Results reported to date have been collected and integrated by the Systems SIG and an overview of the current results and the status of the Systems Investigation are presented in this paper.

Mass and Reliability System (MaRS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Sarah

2016-01-01

The Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate is responsible for mitigating risk, providing system safety, and lowering risk for space programs from ground to space. The S&MA is divided into 4 divisions: The Space Exploration Division (NC), the International Space Station Division (NE), the Safety & Test Operations Division (NS), and the Quality and Flight Equipment Division (NT). The interns, myself and Arun Aruljothi, will be working with the Risk & Reliability Analysis Branch under the NC Division's. The mission of this division is to identify, characterize, diminish, and communicate risk by implementing an efficient and effective assurance model. The team utilizes Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to ensure decisions concerning risks are informed, vehicles are safe and reliable, and program/project requirements are realistic and realized. This project pertains to the Orion mission, so it is geared toward a long duration Human Space Flight Program(s). For space missions, payload is a critical concept; balancing what hardware can be replaced by components verse by Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) or subassemblies is key. For this effort a database was created that combines mass and reliability data, called Mass and Reliability System or MaRS. The U.S. International Space Station (ISS) components are used as reference parts in the MaRS database. Using ISS components as a platform is beneficial because of the historical context and the environment similarities to a space flight mission. MaRS uses a combination of systems: International Space Station PART for failure data, Vehicle Master Database (VMDB) for ORU & components, Maintenance & Analysis Data Set (MADS) for operation hours and other pertinent data, & Hardware History Retrieval System (HHRS) for unit weights. MaRS is populated using a Visual Basic Application. Once populated, the excel spreadsheet is comprised of information on ISS components including: operation hours, random/nonrandom failures, software/hardware failures, quantity, orbital replaceable units (ORU), date of placement, unit weight, frequency of part, etc. The motivation for creating such a database will be the development of a mass/reliability parametric model to estimate mass required for replacement parts. Once complete, engineers working on future space flight missions will have access a mean time to failures and on parts along with their mass, this will be used to make proper decisions for long duration space flight missions

Contamination Control and Hardware Processing Solutions at Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, DeWitt H.; Hampton, Tammy; Huey, LaQuieta; Mitchell, Mark; Norwood, Joey; Lowrey, Nikki

2012-01-01

The Contamination Control Team of Marshall Space Flight Center's Materials and Processes Laboratory supports many Programs/ Projects that design, manufacture, and test a wide range of hardware types that are sensitive to contamination and foreign object damage (FOD). Examples where contamination/FOD concerns arise include sensitive structural bondline failure, critical orifice blockage, seal leakage, and reactive fluid compatibility (liquid oxygen, hydrazine) as well as performance degradation of sensitive instruments or spacecraft surfaces such as optical elements and thermal control systems. During the design phase, determination of the sensitivity of a hardware system to different types or levels of contamination/FOD is essential. A contamination control and FOD control plan must then be developed and implemented through all phases of ground processing, and, sometimes, on-orbit use, recovery, and refurbishment. Implementation of proper controls prevents cost and schedule impacts due to hardware damage or rework and helps assure mission success. Current capabilities are being used to support recent and on-going activities for multiple Mission Directorates / Programs such as International Space Station (ISS), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Space Launch System (SLS) elements (tanks, engines, booster), etc. The team also advances Green Technology initiatives and addresses materials obsolescence issues for NASA and external customers, most notably in the area of solvent replacement (e.g. aqueous cleaners containing hexavalent chrome, ozone depleting chemicals (CFC s and HCFC's), suspect carcinogens). The team evaluates new surface cleanliness inspection and cleaning technologies (e.g. plasma cleaning), and maintains databases for processing support materials as well as outgassing and optical compatibility test results for spaceflight environments.

Spacelab Life Sciences 1, development towards successive life sciences flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalton, B. P.; Jahns, G.; Hogan, R.

1992-01-01

A general review is presented of flight data and related hardware developments for Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS) 1 with an eye toward applying this knowledge to projected flight planning. Specific attention is given to the Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF), the General Purpose Work Station (GPWS), the Small Mass Measuring Instrument (SMMI), and the Animal Enclosure Module (AEM). Preflight and in-flight testing methods are detailed including biocompatibility tests, parametric engineering sensitivity analyses, measurements of environmental parameters, and studies of operational interfaces. Particulate containment is demonstrated for some of the equipment, and successful use of the GPWS, RAHF, AEM, and SMMI are reported. The in-flight data are useful for developing more advanced hardware such as the AEM for SLS flight 2 and the modified RAHF for SLS flight 3.

Expecting the Unexpected: Radiation Hardened Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Penix, John; Mehlitz, Peter C.

2005-01-01

Radiation induced Single Event Effects (SEEs) are a serious problem for spacecraft flight software, potentially leading to a complete loss of mission. Conventional risk mitigation has been focused on hardware, leading to slow, expensive and outdated on-board computing devices, increased power consumption and launch mass. Our approach is to look at SEEs from a software perspective, and to explicitly design flight software so that it can detect and correct the majority of SEES. Radiation hardened flight software will reduce the significant residual residual risk for critical missions and flight phases, and enable more use of inexpensive and fast COTS hardware.

Summary of Resources for the International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, David E.

2003-01-01

The assembly complete Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) s ystem for the International Space Station (ISS) will consist of compo nents and subsystems in both the U.S. and International partner eleme nts which together will perform the functions of Temperature and Hum idity Control (THC), Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS), Atmosphere Revitalization (AR), Water Recovery and Management (WRM), Fire Detect ion and Suppression (FDS), and Vacuum System (VS) for the station. D ue to limited resources available on ISS, detailed attention is given to minimizing and tracking all resources associated with all systems , beginning with estimates during the hardware development phase thr ough measured actuals when flight hardware is built and delivered. A summary of resources consumed by the current on-orbit U.S. ECLS syste m hardware is presented, including launch weight, average continuous and peak power loads, on-orbit volume and resupply logistics. ..

Sensitivity of F-106B Leading-Edge-Vortex Images to Flight and Vapor-Screen Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamar, John E.; Johnson, Thomas D., Jr.

1988-01-01

A flight test was undertaken at NASA Langley Research Center with vapor-screen and image-enhancement techniques to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about near-field vortex flows above the wings of fighter aircraft. In particular, the effects of Reynolds and Mach numbers on the vortex system over an angle-of-attack range were sought. The relevance of these flows stems from their present and future use at many points in the flight envelope, especially during transonic maneuvers. The aircraft used in this flight program was the F-106B because it was available and had sufficient wing sweep (60 deg) to generate a significant leading-edge vortex system. The sensitivity of the visual results to vapor screen hardware and to onset flow changes is discussed.

Analysis of physical exercises and exercise protocols for space transportation system operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coleman, A. E.

1982-01-01

A quantitative evaluation of the Thornton-Whitmore treadmill was made so that informed management decisions regarding the role of this treadmill in operational flight crew exercise programs could be made. Specific tasks to be completed were: The Thornton-Whitmore passive treadmill as an exercise device at one-g was evaluated. Hardware, harness and restraint systems for use with the Thornton-Whitmore treadmill in the laboratory and in Shuttle flights were established. The quantitative and qualitative performance of human subjects on the Thorton-Whitmore treadmill with forces in excess of one-g, was evaluated. The performance of human subjects on the Thornton-Whitmore treadmill in weightlessness (onboard Shuttle flights) was also determined.

X-37 Flight Demonstrator Project: Capabilities for Future Space Transportation System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dumbacher, Daniel L.

2004-01-01

The X-37 Approach and Landing Vehicle (ALTV) is an automated (unmanned) spacecraft designed to reduce technical risk in the descent and landing phases of flight. ALTV mission requirements and Orbital Vehicle (OV) technology research and development (R&D) goals are formulated to validate and mature high-payoff ground and flight technologies such as Thermal Protection Systems (TPS). It has been more than three decades since the Space Shuttle was designed and built. Real-world hardware experience gained through the multitude of X-37 Project activities has expanded both Government and industry knowledge of the challenges involved in developing new generations of spacecraft that can fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration.

The Evolution of Exercise Hardware on ISS: Past, Present, and Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buxton, R. E.; Kalogera, K. L.; Hanson, A. M.

2017-01-01

During 16 years in low-Earth orbit, the suite of exercise hardware aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has matured significantly. Today, the countermeasure system supports an array of physical-training protocols and serves as an extensive research platform. Future hardware designs are required to have smaller operational envelopes and must also mitigate known physiologic issues observed in long-duration spaceflight. Taking lessons learned from the long history of space exercise will be important to successful development and implementation of future, compact exercise hardware. The evolution of exercise hardware as deployed on the ISS has implications for future exercise hardware and operations. Key lessons learned from the early days of ISS have helped to: 1. Enhance hardware performance (increased speed and loads). 2. Mature software interfaces. 3. Compare inflight exercise workloads to pre-, in-, and post-flight musculoskeletal and aerobic conditions. 4. Improve exercise comfort. 5. Develop complimentary hardware for research and operations. Current ISS exercise hardware includes both custom and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. Benefits and challenges to this approach have prepared engineering teams to take a hybrid approach when designing and implementing future exercise hardware. Significant effort has gone into consideration of hardware instrumentation and wearable devices that provide important data to monitor crew health and performance.

Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS) function description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, A. J.; Bailey, D. G.; Gaabo, R. J.; Lahn, T. G.; Larson, J. C.; Peterson, E. M.; Schuck, J. W.; Rodgers, D. L.; Wroblewski, K. A.

1982-01-01

The Demonstration Advanced Avionics System, DAAS, is an integrated avionics system utilizing microprocessor technologies, data busing, and shared displays for demonstrating the potential of these technologies in improving the safety and utility of general aviation operations in the late 1980's and beyond. Major hardware elements of the DAAS include a functionally distributed microcomputer complex, an integrated data control center, an electronic horizontal situation indicator, and a radio adaptor unit. All processing and display resources are interconnected by an IEEE-488 bus in order to enhance the overall system effectiveness, reliability, modularity and maintainability. A detail description of the DAAS architecture, the DAAS hardware, and the DAAS functions is presented. The system is designed for installation and flight test in a NASA Cessna 402-B aircraft.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Command and Data Handling Flight Electronics Subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Quang; Yuknis, William; Haghani, Noosha; Pursley, Scott; Haddad, Omar

2012-01-01

A document describes a high-performance, modular, and state-of-the-art Command and Data Handling (C&DH) system developed for use on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. This system implements a complete hardware C&DH subsystem in a single chassis enclosure that includes a processor card, 48 Gbytes of solid-state recorder memory, data buses including MIL-STD-1553B, custom RS-422, SpaceWire, analog collection, switched power services, and interfaces to the Ka-Band and S-Band RF communications systems. The C&DH team capitalized on extensive experience with hardware and software with PCI bus design, SpaceWire networking, Actel FPGA design, digital flight design techniques, and the use of VxWorks for the real-time operating system. The resulting hardware architecture was implemented to meet the LRO mission requirements. The C&DH comprises an enclosure, a backplane, a low-voltage power converter, a single-board computer, a communications interface board, four data storage boards, a housekeeping and digital input/output board, and an analog data acquisition board. The interfaces between the C&DH and the instruments and avionics are connected through a SpaceWire network, a MIL-STD-1553 bus, and a combination of synchronous and asynchronous serial data transfers over RS-422 and LVDS (low-voltage differential-signaling) electrical interfaces. The C&DH acts as the spacecraft data system with an instrument data manager providing all software and internal bus scheduling, ingestion of science data, distribution of commands, and performing science operations in real time.

OGS Maintenance

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-21

ISS024-E-009246 (21 July 2010) --- NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 24 flight engineer, is pictured during troubleshooting operations of the Oxygen Generator System (OGS) hardware and replacement of an H2 (hydrogen) Dome Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

Mastracchio installs MSG LSAH Decontamination System

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-10

ISS038-E-044829 (10 Feb. 2014) --- NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, Expedition 38 flight engineer, prepares to use an ultraviolet light to decontaminate hardware used for life science experiments inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

Tethered Satellite System Contingency Investigation Board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on July 31, 1992. During the attempted on-orbit operations, the Tethered Satellite System failed to deploy successfully beyond 256 meters. The satellite was retrieved successfully and was returned on August 6, 1992. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for Space Flight formed the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) Contingency Investigation Board on August 12, 1992. The TSS-1 Contingency Investigation Board was asked to review the anomalies which occurred, to determine the probable cause, and to recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence. The board was supported by the TSS Systems Working group as identified in MSFC-TSS-11-90, 'Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Contingency Plan'. The board identified five anomalies for investigation: initial failure to retract the U2 umbilical; initial failure to flyaway; unplanned tether deployment stop at 179 meters; unplanned tether deployment stop at 256 meters; and failure to move tether in either direction at 224 meters. Initial observations of the returned flight hardware revealed evidence of mechanical interference by a bolt with the level wind mechanism travel as well as a helical shaped wrap of tether which indicated that the tether had been unwound from the reel beyond the travel by the level wind mechanism. Examination of the detailed mission events from flight data and mission logs related to the initial failure to flyaway and the failure to move in either direction at 224 meters, together with known preflight concerns regarding slack tether, focused the assessment of these anomalies on the upper tether control mechanism. After the second meeting, the board requested the working group to complete and validate a detailed integrated mission sequence to focus the fault tree analysis on a stuck U2 umbilical, level wind mechanical interference, and slack tether in upper tether control mechanism and to prepare a detailed plan for hardware inspection, test, and analysis including any appropriate hardware disassembly.

Tethered Satellite System Contingency Investigation Board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-11-01

The Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on July 31, 1992. During the attempted on-orbit operations, the Tethered Satellite System failed to deploy successfully beyond 256 meters. The satellite was retrieved successfully and was returned on August 6, 1992. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for Space Flight formed the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) Contingency Investigation Board on August 12, 1992. The TSS-1 Contingency Investigation Board was asked to review the anomalies which occurred, to determine the probable cause, and to recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence. The board was supported by the TSS Systems Working group as identified in MSFC-TSS-11-90, 'Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Contingency Plan'. The board identified five anomalies for investigation: initial failure to retract the U2 umbilical; initial failure to flyaway; unplanned tether deployment stop at 179 meters; unplanned tether deployment stop at 256 meters; and failure to move tether in either direction at 224 meters. Initial observations of the returned flight hardware revealed evidence of mechanical interference by a bolt with the level wind mechanism travel as well as a helical shaped wrap of tether which indicated that the tether had been unwound from the reel beyond the travel by the level wind mechanism. Examination of the detailed mission events from flight data and mission logs related to the initial failure to flyaway and the failure to move in either direction at 224 meters, together with known preflight concerns regarding slack tether, focused the assessment of these anomalies on the upper tether control mechanism. After the second meeting, the board requested the working group to complete and validate a detailed integrated mission sequence to focus the fault tree analysis on a stuck U2 umbilical, level wind mechanical interference, and slack tether in upper tether control mechanism and to prepare a detailed plan for hardware inspection, test, and analysis including any appropriate hardware disassembly.

Design and Development of a 200-kW Turbo-Electric Distributed Propulsion Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papathakis, Kurt V.; Kloesel, Kurt J.; Lin, Yohan; Clarke, Sean; Ediger, Jacob J.; Ginn, Starr

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) is developing a Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST) Testbed as part of the HEIST Project, to study power management and transition complexities, modular architectures, and flight control laws for turbo-electric distributed propulsion technologies using representative hardware and piloted simulations. Capabilities are being developed to assess the flight readiness of hybrid electric and distributed electric vehicle architectures. Additionally, NASA will leverage experience gained and assets developed from HEIST to assist in flight-test proposal development, flight-test vehicle design, and evaluation of hybrid electric and distributed electric concept vehicles for flight safety. The HEIST test equipment will include three trailers supporting a distributed electric propulsion wing, a battery system and turbogenerator, dynamometers, and supporting power and communication infrastructure, all connected to the AFRC Core simulation. Plans call for 18 high performance electric motors that will be powered by batteries and the turbogenerator, and commanded by a piloted simulation. Flight control algorithms will be developed on the turbo-electric distributed propulsion system.

Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Baseline Control Law: Flight-Test Results for the Full-scale Advanced Systems Testbed F/A-18 Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

A model reference nonlinear dynamic inversion control law has been developed to provide a baseline controller for research into simple adaptive elements for advanced flight control laws. This controller has been implemented and tested in a hardware-in-the-loop simulation and in flight. The flight results agree well with the simulation predictions and show good handling qualities throughout the tested flight envelope with some noteworthy deficiencies highlighted both by handling qualities metrics and pilot comments. Many design choices and implementation details reflect the requirements placed on the system by the nonlinear flight environment and the desire to keep the system as simple as possible to easily allow the addition of the adaptive elements. The flight-test results and how they compare to the simulation predictions are discussed, along with a discussion about how each element affected pilot opinions. Additionally, aspects of the design that performed better than expected are presented, as well as some simple improvements that will be suggested for follow-on work.

Design verification and fabrication of active control systems for the DAST ARW-2 high aspect ratio wing. Part 2: Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgehee, C. R.

1986-01-01

This is Part 2-Appendices of a study conducted under Drones for Aerodynamic and Structural Testing (DAST) Program to accomplish the final design and hardware fabrication for four active control systems compatible with and ready for installation in the NASA Aeroelastic Research Wing No. 2 (ARW-2) and Firebee II drone flight test vehicle. The wing structure was designed so that Active Control Systems (ACS) are required in the normal flight envelope by integrating control system design with aerodynamics and structure technologies. The DAST ARW-2 configuration uses flutter suppression, relaxed static stability, and gust and maneuver load alleviation ACS systems, and an automatic flight control system. Performance goals and criteria were applied to individual systems and the systems collectively to assure that vehicle stability margins, flutter margins, flying qualities, and load reductions were achieved.

Flight Experiment Demonstration System (FEDS) functional description and interface document

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcher, R. C.; Shank, D. E.

1984-01-01

This document presents a functional description of the Flight Experiment Demonstration System (FEDS) and of interfaces between FEDS and external hardware and software. FEDS is a modification of the Automated Orbit Determination System (AODS). FEDS has been developed to support a ground demonstration of microprocessor-based onboard orbit determination. This document provides an overview of the structure and logic of FEDS and details the various operational procedures to build and execute FEDS. It also documents a microprocessor interface between FEDS and a TDRSS user transponder and describes a software simulator of the interface used in the development and system testing of FEDS.

Autonomous biological system-an unique method of conducting long duration space flight experiments for pharmaceutical and gravitational biology research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, G. A.; MacCallum, T. K.; Poynter, J. E.; Klaus, D., Dr.

1998-01-01

Paragon Space Development Corporation (SDC) has developed an Autonomous Biological System (ABS) that can be flown in space to provide for long term growth and breeding of aquatic plants, animals, microbes and algae. The system functions autonomously and in isolation from the spacecraft life support systems and with no mandatory crew time required for function or observation. The ABS can also be used for long term plant and animal life support and breeding on a free flyer space craft. The ABS units are a research tool for both pharmaceutical and basic space biological sciences. Development flights in May of 1996 and September, 1996 through January, 1997 were largely successful, showing both that the hardware and life systems are performing with beneficial results, though some surprises were still found. The two space flights, plus the current flight now on Mir, are expected to result in both a scientific and commercially usable system for breeding and propagation of animals and plants in space.

A Descent Rate Control Approach to Developing an Autonomous Descent Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fields, Travis D.

Circular parachutes have been used for aerial payload/personnel deliveries for over 100 years. In the past two decades, significant work has been done to improve the landing accuracies of cargo deliveries for humanitarian and military applications. This dissertation discusses the approach developed in which a circular parachute is used in conjunction with an electro-mechanical reefing system to manipulate the landing location. Rather than attempt to steer the autonomous descent vehicle directly, control of the landing location is accomplished by modifying the amount of time spent in a particular wind layer. Descent rate control is performed by reversibly reefing the parachute canopy. The first stage of the research investigated the use of a single actuation during descent (with periodic updates), in conjunction with a curvilinear target. Simulation results using real-world wind data are presented, illustrating the utility of the methodology developed. Additionally, hardware development and flight-testing of the single actuation autonomous descent vehicle are presented. The next phase of the research focuses on expanding the single actuation descent rate control methodology to incorporate a multi-actuation path-planning system. By modifying the parachute size throughout the descent, the controllability of the system greatly increases. The trajectory planning methodology developed provides a robust approach to accurately manipulate the landing location of the vehicle. The primary benefits of this system are the inherent robustness to release location errors and the ability to overcome vehicle uncertainties (mass, parachute size, etc.). A separate application of the path-planning methodology is also presented. An in-flight path-prediction system was developed for use in high-altitude ballooning by utilizing the path-planning methodology developed for descent vehicles. The developed onboard system improves landing location predictions in-flight using collected flight information during the ascent and descent. Simulation and real-world flight tests (using the developed low-cost hardware) demonstrate the significance of the improvements achievable when flying the developed system.

Results of solar electric thrust vector control system design, development and tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleischer, G. E.

1973-01-01

Efforts to develop and test a thrust vector control system TVCS for a solar-energy-powered ion engine array are described. The results of solar electric propulsion system technology (SEPST) III real-time tests of present versions of TVCS hardware in combination with computer-simulated attitude dynamics of a solar electric multi-mission spacecraft (SEMMS) Phase A-type spacecraft configuration are summarized. Work on an improved solar electric TVCS, based on the use of a state estimator, is described. SEPST III tests of TVCS hardware have generally proved successful and dynamic response of the system is close to predictions. It appears that, if TVCS electronic hardware can be effectively replaced by control computer software, a significant advantage in control capability and flexibility can be gained in future developmental testing, with practical implications for flight systems as well. Finally, it is concluded from computer simulations that TVCS stabilization using rate estimation promises a substantial performance improvement over the present design.

Workstation-Based Avionics Simulator to Support Mars Science Laboratory Flight Software Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henriquez, David; Canham, Timothy; Chang, Johnny T.; McMahon, Elihu

2008-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory developed the WorkStation TestSet (WSTS) to support flight software development. The WSTS is the non-real-time flight avionics simulator that is designed to be completely software-based and run on a workstation class Linux PC. This provides flight software developers with their own virtual avionics testbed and allows device-level and functional software testing when hardware testbeds are either not yet available or have limited availability. The WSTS has successfully off-loaded many flight software development activities from the project testbeds. At the writing of this paper, the WSTS has averaged an order of magnitude more usage than the project's hardware testbeds.

Demonstrating a Realistic IP Mission Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James; Ferrer, Arturo B.; Goodman, Nancy; Ghazi-Tehrani, Samira; Polk, Joe; Johnson, Lorin; Menke, Greg; Miller, Bill; Criscuolo, Ed; Hogie, Keith

2003-01-01

Flight software and hardware and realistic space communications environments were elements of recent demonstrations of the Internet Protocol (IP) mission concept in the lab. The Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI) Project and the Flight Software Branch at NASA/GSFC collaborated to build the prototype of a representative space mission that employed unmodified off-the-shelf Internet protocols and technologies for end-to-end communications between the spacecraft/instruments and the ground system/users. The realistic elements used in the prototype included an RF communications link simulator and components of the TRIANA mission flight software and ground support system. A web-enabled camera connected to the spacecraft computer via an Ethernet LAN represented an on-board instrument creating image data. In addition to the protocols at the link layer (HDLC), transport layer (UDP, TCP), and network (IP) layer, a reliable file delivery protocol (MDP) at the application layer enabled reliable data delivery both to and from the spacecraft. The standard Network Time Protocol (NTP) performed on-board clock synchronization with a ground time standard. The demonstrations of the prototype mission illustrated some of the advantages of using Internet standards and technologies for space missions, but also helped identify issues that must be addressed. These issues include applicability to embedded real-time systems on flight-qualified hardware, range of applicability of TCP, and liability for and maintenance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. The NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) funded the collaboration to build and demonstrate the prototype IP mission.

Design and Integration of an Actuated Nose Strake Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flick, Bradley C.; Thomson, Michael P.; Regenie, Victoria A.; Wichman, Keith D.; Pahle, Joseph W.; Earls, Michael R.

1996-01-01

Aircraft flight characteristics at high angles of attack can be improved by controlling vortices shed from the nose. These characteristics have been investigated with the integration of the actuated nose strakes for enhanced rolling (ANSER) control system into the NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle. Several hardware and software systems were developed to enable performance of the research goals. A strake interface box was developed to perform actuator control and failure detection outside the flight control computer. A three-mode ANSER control law was developed and installed in the Research Flight Control System. The thrust-vectoring mode does not command the strakes. The strakes and thrust-vectoring mode uses a combination of thrust vectoring and strakes for lateral- directional control, and strake mode uses strakes only for lateral-directional control. The system was integrated and tested in the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) simulation for testing before installation in the aircraft. Performance of the ANSER system was monitored in real time during the 89-flight ANSER flight test program in the DFRC Mission Control Center. One discrepancy resulted in a set of research data not being obtained. The experiment was otherwise considered a success with the majority of the research objectives being met.

Development of a low risk augmentation system for an energy efficient transport having relaxed static stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sizlo, T. R.; Berg, R. A.; Gilles, D. L.

1979-01-01

An augmentation system for a 230 passenger, twin engine aircraft designed with a relaxation of conventional longitudinal static stability was developed. The design criteria are established and candidate augmentation system control laws and hardware architectures are formulated and evaluated with respect to reliability, flying qualities, and flight path tracking performance. The selected systems are shown to satisfy the interpreted regulatory safety and reliability requirements while maintaining the present DC 10 (study baseline) level of maintainability and reliability for the total flight control system. The impact of certification of the relaxed static stability augmentation concept is also estimated with regard to affected federal regulations, system validation plan, and typical development/installation costs.

A Software Defined Radio Based Airplane Communication Navigation Simulation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, L.; Zhong, H. T.; Song, D.

2018-01-01

Radio communication and navigation system plays important role in ensuring the safety of civil airplane in flight. Function and performance should be tested before these systems are installed on-board. Conventionally, a set of transmitter and receiver are needed for each system, thus all the equipment occupy a lot of space and are high cost. In this paper, software defined radio technology is applied to design a common hardware communication and navigation ground simulation system, which can host multiple airplane systems with different operating frequency, such as HF, VHF, VOR, ILS, ADF, etc. We use a broadband analog frontend hardware platform, universal software radio peripheral (USRP), to transmit/receive signal of different frequency band. Software is compiled by LabVIEW on computer, which interfaces with USRP through Ethernet, and is responsible for communication and navigation signal processing and system control. An integrated testing system is established to perform functional test and performance verification of the simulation signal, which demonstrate the feasibility of our design. The system is a low-cost and common hardware platform for multiple airplane systems, which provide helpful reference for integrated avionics design.

Use of CCSDS Packets Over SpaceWire to Control Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haddad, Omar; Blau, Michael; Haghani, Noosha; Yuknis, William; Albaijes, Dennis

2012-01-01

For the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Command and Data Handling subsystem consisted of several electronic hardware assemblies that were connected with SpaceWire serial links. Electronic hardware would be commanded/controlled and telemetry data was obtained using the SpaceWire links. Prior art focused on parallel data buses and other types of serial buses, which were not compatible with the SpaceWire and the core flight executive (CFE) software bus. This innovation applies to anything that utilizes both SpaceWire networks and the CFE software. The CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) packet contains predetermined values in its payload fields that electronic hardware attached at the terminus of the SpaceWire node would decode, interpret, and execute. The hardware s interpretation of the packet data would enable the hardware to change its state/configuration (command) or generate status (telemetry). The primary purpose is to provide an interface that is compatible with the hardware and the CFE software bus. By specifying the format of the CCSDS packet, it is possible to specify how the resulting hardware is to be built (in terms of digital logic) that results in a hardware design that can be controlled by the CFE software bus in the final application

An environmental testing facility for Space Station Freedom power management and distribution hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackola, Arthur S.; Hartjen, Gary L.

1992-01-01

The plans for a new test facility, including new environmental test systems, which are presently under construction, and the major environmental Test Support Equipment (TSE) used therein are addressed. This all-new Rocketdyne facility will perform space simulation environmental tests on Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) hardware to Space Station Freedom (SSF) at the Engineering Model, Qualification Model, and Flight Model levels of fidelity. Testing will include Random Vibration in three axes - Thermal Vacuum, Thermal Cycling and Thermal Burn-in - as well as numerous electrical functional tests. The facility is designed to support a relatively high throughput of hardware under test, while maintaining the high standards required for a man-rated space program.

Description, characteristics and testing of the NASA airborne radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, W. R.; Altiz, O.; Schaffner, P.; Schrader, J. H.; Blume, H. J. C.

1991-01-01

Presented here is a description of a coherent radar scattermeter and its associated signal processing hardware, which have been specifically designed to detect microbursts and record their radar characteristics. Radar parameters, signal processing techniques and detection algorithms, all under computer control, combine to sense and process reflectivity, clutter, and microburst data. Also presented is the system's high density, high data rate recording system. This digital system is capable of recording many minutes of the in-phase and quadrature components and corresponding receiver gains of the scattered returns for selected spatial regions, as well as other aircraft and hardware related parameters of interest for post-flight analysis. Information is given in viewgraph form.

1400143

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-28

From left, Wayne Arrington, a Boeing Company technician, and Steve Presti, a mechanical technician at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., install Developmental Flight Instrumentation Data Acquisition Units in Marshall's Systems Integration and Test Facility. The units are part of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) core stage avionics, which will guide the biggest, most powerful rocket in history to deep space missions. When completed, the core stage will be more than 200 feet tall and store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle's RS-25 engines. The hardware, software and operating systems for the SLS are arranged in flight configuration in the facility for testing. The new Data Acquisition Units will monitor vehicle behavior in flight -- like acceleration, thermal environments, shock and vibration. That data will then be used to validate previous ground tests and analyses models that were used in the development of the SLS vehicle.

Apollo experience report: Guidance and control systems. Mission control programmer for unmanned missions AS-202, Apollo 4, and Apollo 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, G. F.

1975-01-01

An unmanned test flight program required to evaluate the command module heat shield and the structural integrity of the command and service module/Saturn launch vehicle is described. The mission control programer was developed to provide the unmanned interface between the guidance and navigation computer and the other spacecraft systems for mission event sequencing and real-time ground control during missions AS-202, Apollo 4, and Apollo 6. The development of this unmanned programer is traced from the initial concept through the flight test phase. Detailed discussions of hardware development problems are given with the resulting solutions. The mission control programer functioned correctly without any flight anomalies for all missions. The Apollo 4 mission control programer was reused for the Apollo 6 flight, thus being one of the first subsystems to be reflown on an Apollo space flight.

Development of the NASA High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Lihua; Heymsfield, Gerald; Carswell, James; Schaubert, Dan; McLinden, Matthew; Vega, Manuel; Perrine, Martin

2011-01-01

The scope of this paper is the development and recent field deployments of the High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), which was funded under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) [1]. HIWRAP is a dual-frequency (Ka- and Ku-band), dual-beam (300 and 400 incidence angles), conical scanning, Doppler radar system designed for operation on the NASA high-altitude (65,000 ft) Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). It utilizes solid state transmitters along with a novel pulse compression scheme that results in a system with compact size, light weight, less power consumption, and low cost compared to radars currently in use for precipitation and Doppler wind measurements. By combining measurements at Ku- and Ka-band, HIWRAP is able to image winds through measuring volume backscattering from clouds and precipitation. In addition, HIWRAP is also capable of measuring surface winds in an approach similar to SeaWinds on QuikScat. To this end, HIWRAP hardware and software development has been completed. It was installed on the NASA WB57 for instrument test flights in March, 2010 and then deployed on the NASA Global Hawk for supporting the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field campaign in August-September, 2010. This paper describes the scientific motivations of the development of HIWRAP as well as system hardware, aircraft integration and flight missions. Preliminary data from GRIP science flights is also presented.

Implementation of an Adaptive Controller System from Concept to Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Richard R.; Burken, John J.; Butler, Bradley S.

2009-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) is conducting ongoing flight research using adaptive controller algorithms. A highly modified McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B airplane called the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) was used for these algorithms. This airplane has been modified by the addition of canards and by changing the flight control systems to interface a single-string research controller processor for neural network algorithms. Research goals included demonstration of revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance for both normal and failure conditions, and to advance neural-network-based flight control technology for new aerospace systems designs. Before the NF-15B IFCS airplane was certified for flight test, however, certain processes needed to be completed. This paper presents an overview of these processes, including a description of the initial adaptive controller concepts followed by a discussion of modeling formulation and performance testing. Upon design finalization, the next steps are: integration with the system interfaces, verification of the software, validation of the hardware to the requirements, design of failure detection, development of safety limiters to minimize the effect of erroneous neural network commands, and creation of flight test control room displays to maximize human situational awareness.

Evaluating the Applicability of Heritage Flight Hardware in Orion Environmental Control and Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cross, Cynthia D.; Lewis, John F.; Barido, Richard A.; Carrasquillo, Robyn; Rains, George E.

2011-01-01

Recent changes in the overall NASA vision has resulted in further cost and schedule challenges for the Orion program. As a result, additional scrutiny has been focused on the use of new developments for hardware in the environmental control and life support systems. This paper will examine the Orion architecture as it is envisioned to support missions to the International Space Station and future exploration missions and determine what if any functions can be satisfied through the use of existing, heritage hardware designs. An initial evaluation of each component is included and where a heritage component was deemed likely further details are examined. Key technical parameters, mass, volume and vibration loads are a few of the specific items that are evaluated. Where heritage hardware has been identified that may be substituted in the Orion architecture a discussion of key requirement changes that may need to be made as well as recommendation to further evaluate applicability are noted.

Low Cost Propulsion Technology Testing at the Stennis Space Center: Propulsion Test Article and the Horizontal Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Mark F.; King, Richard F.; Chenevert, Donald J.

1998-01-01

The need for low cost access to space has initiated the development of low cost liquid rocket engine and propulsion system hardware at the Marshall Space Flight Center. This hardware will be tested at the Stennis Space Center's B-2 test stand. This stand has been reactivated for the testing of the Marshall designed Fastrac engine and the Propulsion Test Article. The RP-1 and LOX engine is a turbopump fed gas generator rocket with an ablative nozzle which has a thrust of 60,000 lbf. The Propulsion Test Article (PTA) is a test bed for low cost propulsion system hardware including a composite RP-I tank, flight feedlines and pressurization system, stacked in a booster configuration. The PTA is located near the center line of the B-2 test stand, firing vertically into the water cooled flame deflector. A new second position on the B-2 test stand has been designed and built for the horizontal testing of the Fastrac engine in direct support of the X-34 launch vehicle. The design and integration of these test facilities as well as the coordination which was required between the two Centers is described and lessons learned are provided. The construction of the horizontal test position is discussed in detail. The activation of these facilities is examined and the major test milestones are described.

The Systems Engineering Process for Human Support Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2005-01-01

Systems engineering is designing and optimizing systems. This paper reviews the systems engineering process and indicates how it can be applied in the development of advanced human support systems. Systems engineering develops the performance requirements, subsystem specifications, and detailed designs needed to construct a desired system. Systems design is difficult, requiring both art and science and balancing human and technical considerations. The essential systems engineering activity is trading off and compromising between competing objectives such as performance and cost, schedule and risk. Systems engineering is not a complete independent process. It usually supports a system development project. This review emphasizes the NASA project management process as described in NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 7120.5B. The process is a top down phased approach that includes the most fundamental activities of systems engineering - requirements definition, systems analysis, and design. NPR 7120.5B also requires projects to perform the engineering analyses needed to ensure that the system will operate correctly with regard to reliability, safety, risk, cost, and human factors. We review the system development project process, the standard systems engineering design methodology, and some of the specialized systems analysis techniques. We will discuss how they could apply to advanced human support systems development. The purpose of advanced systems development is not directly to supply human space flight hardware, but rather to provide superior candidate systems that will be selected for implementation by future missions. The most direct application of systems engineering is in guiding the development of prototype and flight experiment hardware. However, anticipatory systems engineering of possible future flight systems would be useful in identifying the most promising development projects.

Pilot/Vehicle display development from simulation to flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dare, Alan R.; Burley, James R., II

1992-01-01

The Pilot Vehicle Interface Group, Cockpit Technology Branch, Flight Management Division, at the NASA Langley Research Center is developing display concepts for air combat in the next generation of highly maneuverable aircraft. The High-Alpha Technology Program, under which the research is being done, is involved in flight tests of many new control and display concepts on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle, a highly modified F-18 aircraft. In order to support display concept development through flight testing, a software/hardware system is being developed which will support each phase of the project with little or no software modifications, thus saving thousands of manhours in software development time. Simulation experiments are in progress now and flight tests are slated to begin in FY1994.

Hadfield and Marshburn work on the MARES in the Columbus Module

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-03

ISS034-E-014618 (3 Jan. 2013) --- Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield (left) and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, both Expedition 34 flight engineers, work with Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) hardware in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station.

Design and Fabrication of a Tank-Applied Broad Area Cooling Shield Coupon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, J. J.; Middlemas, M. R.

2012-01-01

The small-scale broad area cooling (BAC) shield test panel represents a section of the cryogenic propellant storage and transfer ground test article, a flight-like cryogenic propellant storage tank. The test panel design includes an aluminum tank shell, primer, spray-on foam insulation, multilayer insulation (MLI), and BAC shield hardware. This assembly was sized to accurately represent the character of the MLI/BAC shield system, be quickly and inexpensively assembled, and be tested in the Marshall Space Flight Center Acoustic Test Facility. Investigating the BAC shield response to a worst-case launch dynamic load was the key purpose for developing the test article and performing the test. A preliminary method for structurally supporting the BAC shield using low-conductivity standoffs was designed, manufactured, and evaluated as part of the test. The BAC tube-standoff interface and unsupported BAC tube lengths were key parameters for evaluation. No noticeable damage to any system hardware element was observed after acoustic testing.

Actions, Observations, and Decision-Making: Biologically Inspired Strategies for Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pisanich, Greg; Ippolito, Corey; Plice, Laura; Young, Larry A.; Lau, Benton

2003-01-01

This paper details the development and demonstration of an autonomous aerial vehicle embodying search and find mission planning and execution srrategies inspired by foraging behaviors found in biology. It begins by describing key characteristics required by an aeria! explorer to support science and planetary exploration goals, and illustrates these through a hypothetical mission profile. It next outlines a conceptual bio- inspired search and find autonomy architecture that implements observations, decisions, and actions through an "ecology" of producer, consumer, and decomposer agents. Moving from concepts to development activities, it then presents the results of mission representative UAV aerial surveys at a Mars analog site. It next describes hardware and software enhancements made to a commercial small fixed-wing UAV system, which inc!nde a ncw dpvelopnent architecture that also provides hardware in the loop simulation capability. After presenting the results of simulated and actual flights of bioinspired flight algorithms, it concludes with a discussion of future development to include an expansion of system capabilities and field science support.

SLS Intertank Transported to NASA's Barge Pegasus for Shipment, Testing

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-22

A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus Feb. 22, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. NASA engineers and technicians used the agency's new self-propelled modular transporters -- highly specialized, mobile platforms specifically designed to transport SLS hardware -- to transport the critical test hardware to the barge. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the rocket's massive core stage scheduled for delivery to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. Engineers at Marshall will push, pull and bend the intertank with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The flight version of the intertank will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house the avionics and electronics that will serve as the "brains" of the rocket. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the core stage elements from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launches.

SLS Intertank Transported to NASA's Barge Pegasus for Shipment, testing

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-22

A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus Feb. 22, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. NASA engineers and technicians used the agency's new self-propelled modular transporters -- highly specialized, mobile platforms specifically designed to transport SLS hardware -- to transport the critical test hardware to the barge. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the rocket's massive core stage scheduled for delivery to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. Engineers at Marshall will push, pull and bend the intertank with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The flight version of the intertank will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house the avionics and electronics that will serve as the "brains" of the rocket. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the core stage elements from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launches.

A balloon-borne high-resolution spectrometer for observations of gamma-ray emission from solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crannell, C. J.; Starr, R.; Stottlemyre, A. R.; Trombka, J. I.

1984-01-01

The design, development, and balloon-flight verification of a payload for observations of gamma-ray emission from solar flares are reported. The payload incorporates a high-purity germanium semiconductor detector, standard NIM and CAMAC electronics modules, a thermally stabilized pressure housing, and regulated battery power supplies. The flight system is supported on the ground with interactive data-handling equipment comprised of similar electronics hardware. The modularity and flexibility of the payload, together with the resolution and stability obtained throughout a 30-hour flight, make it readily adaptable for high-sensitivity, long-duration balloon fight applications.

Third Conference on Fibrous Composites in Flight Vehicle Design, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The use of fibrous composite materials in the design of aircraft and space vehicle structures and their impact on future vehicle systems are discussed. The topics covered include: flight test work on composite components, design concepts and hardware, specialized applications, operational experience, certification and design criteria. Contributions to the design technology base include data concerning material properties, design procedures, environmental exposure effects, manufacturing procedures, and flight service reliability. By including composites as baseline design materials, significant payoffs are expected in terms of reduced structural weight fractions, longer structural life, reduced fuel consumption, reduced structural complexity, and reduced manufacturing cost.

The development and testing of a regenerable CO2 and humidity control system for Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm, A. M.

1977-01-01

A regenerable CO2 and humidity control system is presently being developed for potential use on Shuttle as an alternate to the baseline lithium hydroxide (LiOH) system. The system utilizes a sorbent material (designated 'HS-C') to adsorb CO2 and water vapor from the cabin atmosphere and desorb the CO2 and water vapor overboard when exposed to a space vacuum. Continuous operation is achieved by utilizing two beds which are alternately cycled between adsorption and desorption. This paper presents the significant hardware development and test accomplishments of the past year. A half-size breadboard system utilizing a flight configuration canister was successfully performance tested in simulated Shuttle missions. A vacuum desorption test provided considerable insight into the desorption phenomena and allowed a significant reduction of the Shuttle vacuum duct size. The fabrication and testing of a flight prototype canister and flight prototype vacuum valves have proven the feasibility of these full-size, flight-weight components.

Magnetic Gimbal Proof-of-Concept Hardware performance results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuart, Keith O.

1993-01-01

The Magnetic Gimbal Proof-of-Concept Hardware activities, accomplishments, and test results are discussed. The Magnetic Gimbal Fabrication and Test (MGFT) program addressed the feasibility of using a magnetic gimbal to isolate an Electro-Optical (EO) sensor from the severe angular vibrations induced during the firing of divert and attitude control system (ACS) thrusters during space flight. The MGFT effort was performed in parallel with the fabrication and testing of a mechanically gimballed, flex pivot based isolation system by the Hughes Aircraft Missile Systems Group. Both servo systems supported identical EO sensor assembly mockups to facilitate direct comparison of performance. The results obtained from the MGFT effort indicate that the magnetic gimbal exhibits the ability to provide significant performance advantages over alternative mechanically gimballed techniques.

Magnetic Gimbal Proof-of-Concept Hardware performance results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stuart, Keith O.

The Magnetic Gimbal Proof-of-Concept Hardware activities, accomplishments, and test results are discussed. The Magnetic Gimbal Fabrication and Test (MGFT) program addressed the feasibility of using a magnetic gimbal to isolate an Electro-Optical (EO) sensor from the severe angular vibrations induced during the firing of divert and attitude control system (ACS) thrusters during space flight. The MGFT effort was performed in parallel with the fabrication and testing of a mechanically gimballed, flex pivot based isolation system by the Hughes Aircraft Missile Systems Group. Both servo systems supported identical EO sensor assembly mockups to facilitate direct comparison of performance. The results obtained from the MGFT effort indicate that the magnetic gimbal exhibits the ability to provide significant performance advantages over alternative mechanically gimballed techniques.

Star field attitude sensor study for the Pioneer Venus spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rudolf, W. P.; Reed, D. R.

1972-01-01

The characteristics of a star field attitude sensor for use with the Pioneer Venus spacecraft are presented. The aspects of technical feasibility, system interface considerations, and cost of flight hardware development are discussed. The tradeoffs which relate to performance, design, cost, and reliability are analyzed. The configuration of the system for installation in the spacecraft is described.

The MGS Avionics System Architecture: Exploring the Limits of Inheritance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bunker, R.

1994-01-01

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) avionics system architecture comprises much of the electronics on board the spacecraft: electrical power, attitude and articulation control, command and data handling, telecommunications, and flight software. Schedule and cost constraints dictated a mix of new and inherited designs, especially hardware upgrades based on findings of the Mars Observer failure review boards.

Study of data entry requirements at Marshall Space Flight Computation Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherman, G. R.

1975-01-01

An economic and systems analysis of a data center was conducted. Current facilities for data storage of documentation are shown to be inadequate and outmoded for efficient data handling. Redesign of documents, condensation of the keypunching operation, upgrading of hardware, and retraining of personnel are the solutions proposed to improve the present data system.

Plasma arc welding repair of space flight hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, David S.

1993-01-01

Repair and refurbishment of flight and test hardware can extend the useful life of very expensive components. A technique to weld repair the main combustion chamber of space shuttle main engines has been developed. The technique uses the plasma arc welding process and active cooling to seal cracks and pinholes in the hot-gas wall of the main combustion chamber liner. The liner hot-gas wall is made of NARloyZ, a copper alloy previously thought to be unweldable using conventional arc welding processes. The process must provide extensive heat input to melt the high conductivity NARloyZ while protecting the delicate structure of the surrounding material. The higher energy density of the plasma arc process provides the necessary heat input while active water cooling protects the surrounding structure. The welding process is precisely controlled using a computerized robotic welding system.

Engineering simulation development and evaluation of the two-segment noise abatement approach conducted in the B-727-222 flight simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nylen, W. E.

1974-01-01

Profile modification as a means of reducing ground level noise from jet aircraft in the landing approach is evaluated. A flight simulator was modified to incorporate the cockpit hardware which would be in the prototype airplane installation. The two-segment system operational and aircraft interface logic was accurately emulated in software. Programs were developed to permit data to be recorded in real time on the line printer, a 14-channel oscillograph, and an x-y plotter. The two-segment profile and procedures which were developed are described with emphasis on operational concepts and constraints. The two-segment system operational logic and the flight simulator capabilities are described. The findings influenced the ultimate system design and aircraft interface.

The Mars In-Situ-Propellant-Production Precursor (MIP) Flight Demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, D. I.; Ratliff, J. E.; Baird, R. S.; Sanders, G. B.; Johnson, K. R.; Karlmann, P. B.; Baraona, C. R.; Landis, G. A.; Jenkins, P. P.; Scheiman, D. A.

1999-01-01

Strategic planning for human missions of exploration to Mars has conclusively identified insitu propellant production (ISPP) as an enabling technology. A team of scientists and engineers from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Glenn Research Center is preparing the MARS ISPP PRECURSOR (MIP) Flight Demonstration. The objectives of MIP are to characterize the performance of processes and hardware that are important to ISPP concepts and to demonstrate how these processes and hardware interact with the Mars environment. Operating this hardware in the actual Mars environment is extremely important due to (1) uncertainties in our knowledge of the Mars environment, and (2) conditions that cannot be adequately simulated on Earth. The MIP Flight Demonstration is a payload onboard the MARS SURVEYOR Lander and will be launched in April 2001. MIP will be the first hardware to utilize the indigenous resources of a planet or moon. Its successful operation will pave the way for future robotic and human missions to rely on propellants produced using Martian resources as feedstock.

High Speed, Low Cost Telemetry Access from Space Development Update on Programmable Ultra Lightweight System Adaptable Radio (PULSAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simms, William Herbert, III; Varnavas, Kosta; Eberly, Eric

2014-01-01

Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology has been proven in the commercial sector since the early 1990's. Today's rapid advancement in mobile telephone reliability and power management capabilities exemplifies the effectiveness of the SDR technology for the modern communications market. In contrast, the foundations of transponder technology presently qualified for satellite applications were developed during the early space program of the 1960's. Conventional transponders are built to a specific platform and must be redesigned for every new bus while the SDR is adaptive in nature and can fit numerous applications with no hardware modifications. A SDR uses a minimum amount of analog / Radio Frequency (RF) components to up/down-convert the RF signal to/from a digital format. Once the signal is digitized, all processing is performed using hardware or software logic. Typical SDR digital processes include; filtering, modulation, up/down converting and demodulation. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Programmable Ultra Lightweight System Adaptable Radio (PULSAR) leverages existing MSFC SDR designs and commercial sector enhanced capabilities to provide a path to a radiation tolerant SDR transponder. These innovations (1) reduce the cost of NASA Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Deep Space standard transponders, (2) decrease power requirements, and (3) commensurately reduce volume. A second pay-off is the increased SDR flexibility by allowing the same hardware to implement multiple transponder types simply by altering hardware logic - no change of hardware is required - all of which will ultimately be accomplished in orbit. Development of SDR technology for space applications will provide a highly capable, low cost transponder to programs of all sizes. The MSFC PULSAR Project results in a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 low-cost telemetry system available to Smallsat and CubeSat missions, as well as other platforms. This paper documents the continued development and verification/validation of the MSFC SDR, called PULSAR, which contributes to advancing the state-of-the-art in transponder design - directly applicable to the SmallSat and CubeSat communities. This paper focuses on lessons learned on the first sub-orbital flight (high altitude balloon) and the follow-on steps taken to validate PULSAR. A sounding rocket launch, currently planned for 03/2015, will further expose PULSAR to the high dynamics of sub-orbital flights. Future opportunities for orbiting satellite incorporation reside in the small satellite missions (FASTSat, CubeSat. etc.).

Flight evaluation results from the general-aviation advanced avionics system program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callas, G. P.; Denery, D. G.; Hardy, G. H.; Nedell, B. F.

1983-01-01

A demonstration advanced avionics system (DAAS) for general-aviation aircraft was tested at NASA Ames Research Center to provide information required for the design of reliable, low-cost, advanced avionics systems which would make general-aviation operations safer and more practicable. Guest pilots flew a DAAS-equipped NASA Cessna 402-B aircraft to evaluate the usefulness of data busing, distributed microprocessors, and shared electronic displays, and to provide data on the DAAS pilot/system interface for the design of future integrated avionics systems. Evaluation results indicate that the DAAS hardware and functional capability meet the program objective. Most pilots felt that the DAAS representative of the way avionics systems would evolve and felt the added capability would improve the safety and practicability of general-aviation operations. Flight-evaluation results compiled from questionnaires are presented, the results of the debriefings are summarized. General conclusions of the flight evaluation are included.

Modular and Reusable Power System Design for the BRRISON Balloon Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truesdale, Nicholas A.

High altitude balloons are emerging as low-cost alternatives to orbital satellites in the field of telescopic observation. The near-space environment of balloons allows optics to perform near their diffraction limit. In practice, this implies that a telescope similar to the Hubble Space Telescope could be flown for a cost of tens of millions as opposed to billions. While highly feasible, the design of a balloon telescope to rival Hubble is limited by funding. Until a prototype is proven and more support for balloon science is gained, projects remain limited in both hardware costs and man hours. Thus, to effectively create and support balloon payloads, engineering designs must be efficient, modular, and if possible reusable. This thesis focuses specifically on a modular power system design for the BRRISON comet-observing balloon telescope. Time- and cost-saving techniques are developed that can be used for future missions. A modular design process is achieved through the development of individual circuit elements that span a wide range of capabilities. Circuits for power conversion, switching and sensing are designed to be combined in any configuration. These include DC-DC regulators, MOSFET drivers for switching, isolated switches, current sensors and voltage sensing ADCs. Emphasis is also given to commercially available hardware. Pre-fabricated DC-DC converters and an Arduino microcontroller simplify the design process and offer proven, cost-effective performance. The design of the BRRISON power system is developed from these low-level circuits elements. A board for main power distribution supports the majority of flight electronics, and is extensible to additional hardware in future applications. An ATX computer power supply is developed, allowing the use of a commercial ATX motherboard as the flight computer. The addition of new capabilities is explored in the form of a heater control board. Finally, the power system as a whole is described, and its overall performance analyzed. The success of the BRRISON power system during testing and flight proves its utility, both for BRRISON and for future balloon telescopes.

Point of a space experiment proposal.

PubMed

Fukui, Keiji; Shimazu, Toru; Higashibata, Akira; Fujimoto, Nobuyoshi; Ishioka, Noriaki

2003-10-01

JAXA will solicit research proposals for space flight experiments that would be conducted for less than three years after the selection. In principle, available samples will be limited to Arabidopsis and C. elegans and flight hardware and protocol of space flight experiment will be pre-fixed. Proposals using different combinations of species and flight hardware will not be acceptable. Besides scientific issues, it is very important for proposer to write an impressive proposal. Hypothesis basis research proposal is the accepted standard. Reviewers will dislike a descriptive and unfocused research proposal without hypothesis. Ground preparation experiments, which are not related directly to space experiments, should not be included in the solicitation.

JSC Metal Finishing Waste Minimization Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Erica

2003-01-01

THe paper discusses the following: Johnson Space Center (JSC) has achieved VPP Star status and is ISO 9001 compliant. The Structural Engineering Division in the Engineering Directorate is responsible for operating the metal finishing facility at JSC. The Engineering Directorate is responsible for $71.4 million of space flight hardware design, fabrication and testing. The JSC Metal Finishing Facility processes flight hardware to support the programs in particular schedule and mission critical flight hardware. The JSC Metal Finishing Facility is operated by Rothe Joint Venture. The Facility provides following processes: anodizing, alodining, passivation, and pickling. JSC Metal Finishing Facility completely rebuilt in 1998. Total cost of $366,000. All new tanks, electrical, plumbing, and ventilation installed. Designed to meet modern safety, environmental, and quality requirements. Designed to minimize contamination and provide the highest quality finishes.

SLS Model Based Design: A Navigation Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliver, T. Emerson; Anzalone, Evan; Park, Thomas; Geohagan, Kevin

2018-01-01

The SLS Program has implemented a Model-based Design (MBD) and Model-based Requirements approach for managing component design information and system requirements. This approach differs from previous large-scale design efforts at Marshall Space Flight Center where design documentation alone conveyed information required for vehicle design and analysis and where extensive requirements sets were used to scope and constrain the design. The SLS Navigation Team is responsible for the Program-controlled Design Math Models (DMMs) which describe and represent the performance of the Inertial Navigation System (INS) and the Rate Gyro Assemblies (RGAs) used by Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C). The SLS Navigation Team is also responsible for navigation algorithms. The navigation algorithms are delivered for implementation on the flight hardware as a DMM. For the SLS Block 1B design, the additional GPS Receiver hardware model is managed as a DMM at the vehicle design level. This paper describes the models, and discusses the processes and methods used to engineer, design, and coordinate engineering trades and performance assessments using SLS practices as applied to the GN&C system, with a particular focus on the navigation components.

Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1972-01-01

This photograph depicts the flight article of the Airlock Module (AM) Flight Article being mated to the Fixed Airlock Shroud and aligned in a clean room of the McDornell Douglas Plant in St. Louis, Missouri. The AM enabled crew members to conduct extravehicular activities outside Skylab as required for experiment support. Separated from the Workshop and the Multiple Docking Adapter by doors, the AM could be evacuated for egress or ingress of a space-suited astronaut through a side hatch. Oxygen and nitrogen storage tanks needed for Skylab's life support system were mounted on the external truss work of the AM. Major components in the AM included Skylab's electric power control and distribution station, environmental control system, communication system, and data handling and recording systems. The Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for the design and development of the Skylab hardware and experiment management.

Electrochemical carbon dioxide concentrator subsystem development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koszenski, E. P.; Heppner, D. B.; Bunnell, C. T.

1986-01-01

The most promising concept for a regenerative CO2 removal system for long duration manned space flight is the Electrochemical CO2 Concentrator (EDC), which allows for the continuous, efficient removal of CO2 from the spacecraft cabin. This study addresses the advancement of the EDC system by generating subsystem and ancillary component reliability data through extensive endurance testing and developing related hardware components such as electrochemical module lightweight end plates, electrochemical module improved isolation valves, an improved air/liquid heat exchanger and a triple redundant relative humidity sensor. Efforts included fabrication and testing the EDC with a Sabatier CO2 Reduction Reactor and generation of data necessary for integration of the EDC into a space station air revitalization system. The results verified the high level of performance, reliability and durability of the EDC subsystem and ancillary hardware, verified the high efficiency of the Sabatier CO2 Reduction Reactor, and increased the overall EDC technology engineering data base. The study concluded that the EDC system is approaching the hardware maturity levels required for space station deployment.

ISS Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) Coolant Remediation Project -2006 Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrison, Russell H.; Holt, Mike

2006-01-01

The IATCS coolant has experienced a number of anomalies in the time since the US Lab was first activated on Flight 5A in February 2001. These have included: 1) a decrease in coolant pH, 2) increases in inorganic carbon, 3) a reduction in phosphate concentration, 4) an increase in dissolved nickel and precipitation of nickel salts, and 5) increases in microbial concentration. These anomalies represent some risk to the system, have been implicated in some hardware failures and are suspect in others. The ISS program has conducted extensive investigations of the causes and effects of these anomalies and has developed a comprehensive program to remediate the coolant chemistry of the on-orbit system as well as provide a robust and compatible coolant solution for the hardware yet to be delivered. This paper presents a status of the coolant stability over the past year as well as results from destructive analyses of hardware removed from the on-orbit system and the current approach to coolant remediation.

On-Orbit Constraints Test - Performing Pre-Flight Tests with Flight Hardware, Astronauts and Ground Support Equipment to Assure On-Orbit Success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haddad, Michael E.

2008-01-01

On-Orbit Constraints Test (OOCT's) refers to mating flight hardware together on the ground before they will be mated on-orbit. The concept seems simple but it can be difficult to perform operations like this on the ground when the flight hardware is being designed to be mated on-orbit in a zero-g and/or vacuum environment of space. Also some of the items are manufactured years apart so how are mating tasks performed on these components if one piece is on-orbit before its mating piece is planned to be built. Both the Internal Vehicular Activity (IVA) and Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) OOCT's performed at Kennedy Space Center will be presented in this paper. Details include how OOCT's should mimic on-orbit operational scenarios, a series of photographs will be shown that were taken during OOCT's performed on International Space Station (ISS) flight elements, lessons learned as a result of the OOCT's will be presented and the paper will conclude with possible applications to Moon and Mars Surface operations planned for the Constellation Program.

Advanced flight hardware for organic separations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deuser, Mark S.; Vellinger, John C.; Weber, John T.

1997-01-01

Aqueous Two-Phase Partitioning (ATPP) is a unique separation technique which allows purification and classification of biological materials. SHOT has employed the ATPP process in separation equipment developed for both space and ground applications. Initial equipment development and research focused on the ORganic SEParation (ORSEP) space flight experiments that were performed on suborbital rockets and the shuttle. ADvanced SEParations (ADSEP) technology was developed as the next generation of ORSEP equipment through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Under the SBIR contract, a marketing study was conducted, indicating a growing commercial market exists among biotechnology firms for ADSEP equipment and associated flight research and development services. SHOT is preparing to begin manufacturing and marketing laboratory versions of the ADSEP hardware for the ground-based market. In addition, through a self-financed SBIR Phase III effort, SHOT fabricated and integrated the ADSEP flight hardware for a commercially-driven flight experiment as the initial step in marketing space processing services. The ADSEP ground-based and microgravity research is expected to play a vital role in developing important new biomedical and pharmaceutical products.

Attitude algorithm and initial alignment method for SINS applied in short-range aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Rong-Hui; He, Zhao-Cheng; You, Feng; Chen, Bo

2017-07-01

This paper presents an attitude solution algorithm based on the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System and quaternion method. We completed the numerical calculation and engineering practice by adopting fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm in the digital signal processor. The state space mathematical model of initial alignment in static base was established, and the initial alignment method based on Kalman filter was proposed. Based on the hardware in the loop simulation platform, the short-range flight simulation test and the actual flight test were carried out. The results show that the error of pitch, yaw and roll angle is fast convergent, and the fitting rate between flight simulation and flight test is more than 85%.

Leadership Development Program Final Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, Teresa C.

2016-01-01

TOSC is NASA's prime contractor tasked to successfully assemble, test, and launch the EM1 spacecraft. TOSC success is highly dependent on design products from the other NASA Programs manufacturing and delivering the flight hardware; Space Launch System(SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle(MPCV). Design products directly feed into TOSC's: Procedures, Personnel training, Hardware assembly, Software development, Integrated vehicle test and checkout, Launch. TOSC senior management recognized a significant schedule risk as these products are still being developed by the other two (2) programs; SVE and ACE positions were created.

Orion Crew Module Move

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-17

The Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-1 was moved into the thermal chamber in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew module will undergo a thermal cycle test to assess the workmanship of critical hardware and structural locations. The test also demonstrates crew module subsystem operations in a thermally stressing environment to confirm no damage or anomalous hardware conditions as a result of the test. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on its first uncrewed integrated flight.

Orion Crew Module Move

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-17

Technicians assist as the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-1 is moved toward the thermal chamber in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew module will undergo a thermal cycle test to assess the workmanship of critical hardware and structural locations. The test also demonstrates crew module subsystem operations in a thermally stressing environment to confirm no damage or anomalous hardware conditions as a result of the test. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on its first uncrewed integrated flight.

Hardware interface unit for control of shuttle RMS vibrations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsay, Thomas S.; Hansen, Joseph M.; Manouchehri, Davoud; Forouhar, Kamran

1994-01-01

Vibration of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS) increases the time for task completion and reduces task safety for manipulator-assisted operations. If the dynamics of the manipulator and the payload can be physically isolated, performance should improve. Rockwell has developed a self contained hardware unit which interfaces between a manipulator arm and payload. The End Point Control Unit (EPCU) is built and is being tested at Rockwell and at the Langley/Marshall Coupled, Multibody Spacecraft Control Research Facility in NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Pilot interaction with automated airborne decision making systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, W. B.; Hammer, J. M.; Mitchell, C. M.; Morris, N. M.; Lewis, C. M.; Yoon, W. C.

1985-01-01

Progress was made in the three following areas. In the rule-based modeling area, two papers related to identification and significane testing of rule-based models were presented. In the area of operator aiding, research focused on aiding operators in novel failure situations; a discrete control modeling approach to aiding PLANT operators was developed; and a set of guidelines were developed for implementing automation. In the area of flight simulator hardware and software, the hardware will be completed within two months and initial simulation software will then be integrated and tested.

Integration of the Remote Agent for the NASA Deep Space One Autonomy Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorais, Gregory A.; Bernard, Douglas E.; Gamble, Edward B., Jr.; Kanefsky, Bob; Kurien, James; Muscettola, Nicola; Nayak, P. Pandurang; Rajan, Kanna; Lau, Sonie (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This paper describes the integration of the Remote Agent (RA), a spacecraft autonomy system which is scheduled to control the Deep Space 1 spacecraft during a flight experiment in 1999. The RA is a reusable, model-based autonomy system that is quite different from software typically used to control an aerospace system. We describe the integration challenges we faced, how we addressed them, and the lessons learned. We focus on those aspects of integrating the RA that were either easier or more difficult than integrating a more traditional large software application because the RA is a model-based autonomous system. A number of characteristics of the RA made integration process easier. One example is the model-based nature of RA. Since the RA is model-based, most of its behavior is not hard coded into procedural program code. Instead, engineers specify high level models of the spacecraft's components from which the Remote Agent automatically derives correct system-wide behavior on the fly. This high level, modular, and declarative software description allowed some interfaces between RA components and between RA and the flight software to be automatically generated and tested for completeness against the Remote Agent's models. In addition, the Remote Agent's model-based diagnosis system automatically diagnoses when the RA models are not consistent with the behavior of the spacecraft. In flight, this feature is used to diagnose failures in the spacecraft hardware. During integration, it proved valuable in finding problems in the spacecraft simulator or flight software. In addition, when modifications are made to the spacecraft hardware or flight software, the RA models are easily changed because they only capture a description of the spacecraft. one does not have to maintain procedural code that implements the correct behavior for every expected situation. On the other hand, several features of the RA made it more difficult to integrate than typical flight software. For example, the definition of correct behavior is more difficult to specify for a system that is expected to reason about and flexibly react to its environment than for a traditional flight software system. Consequently, whenever a change is made to the RA it is more time consuming to determine if the resulting behavior is correct. We conclude the paper with a discussion of future work on the Remote Agent as well as recommendations to ease integration of similar autonomy projects.

Prototype Common Bus Spacecraft: Hover Test Implementation and Results. Revision, Feb. 26, 2009

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hine, Butler Preston; Turner, Mark; Marshall, William S.

2009-01-01

In order to develop the capability to evaluate control system technologies, NASA Ames Research Center (Ames) began a test program to build a Hover Test Vehicle (HTV) - a ground-based simulated flight vehicle. The HTV would integrate simulated propulsion, avionics, and sensors into a simulated flight structure, and fly that test vehicle in terrestrial conditions intended to simulate a flight environment, in particular for attitude control. The ultimate purpose of the effort at Ames is to determine whether the low-cost hardware and flight software techniques are viable for future low cost missions. To enable these engineering goals, the project sought to develop a team, processes and procedures capable of developing, building and operating a fully functioning vehicle including propulsion, GN&C, structure, power and diagnostic sub-systems, through the development of the simulated vehicle.

Development and flight test of a helicopter compact, portable, precision landing system concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clary, G. R.; Bull, J. S.; Davis, T. J.; Chisholm, J. P.

1984-01-01

An airborne, radar-based, precision approach concept is being developed and flight tested as a part of NASA's Rotorcraft All-Weather Operations Research Program. A transponder-based beacon landing system (BLS) applying state-of-the-art X-band radar technology and digital processing techniques, was built and is being flight tested to demonstrate the concept feasibility. The BLS airborne hardware consists of an add-on microprocessor, installed in conjunction with the aircraft weather/mapping radar, which analyzes the radar beacon receiver returns and determines range, localizer deviation, and glide-slope deviation. The ground station is an inexpensive, portable unit which can be quickly deployed at a landing site. Results from the flight test program show that the BLS concept has a significant potential for providing rotorcraft with low-cost, precision instrument approach capability in remote areas.

KSC-08pd2090

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center remove the protective wrapping from the Flight Support System for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Flight Support System, or FSS, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller